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2009 FAOFAO-Newsroom@fao.org (FAO-Newsroom)FAO-Newsroom@fao.org (FAO-Newsroom)Ongoing conflicts continue to intensify food insecurity Civil conflict and weather-related shocks have severely stressed food security in 2016, increasing the number in need of food assistance, according to the Crop Prospects and Food Situation released today. The report highlights 39 countries that are in need of external assistance for food.

8 December 2016, Rome - Civil conflict and weather-related shocks have severely stressed food security in 2016, increasing the number of countries in need of food assistance, according to a FAO report. The new edition of the Crop Prospects and Food Situationreport, released today, highlights 39 countries that are in need of external assistance for food.

While the outlook for global cereal supplies is improving due to generally favourable growing conditions for crops, the legacy of recent droughts persists, as do the negative effects of a spate of conflicts.

Agricultural forecasts suggest robust grain harvests are on the horizon, but hunger will likely intensify in some regions during the lean seasons before the new crops have matured.

In Southern Africa, where El Niño effects sharply curtailed food production in 2016, the number of people requiring outside assistance from January through March 2017 is expected to significantly increase compared to the same period a year ago. Child stunting rates are "significantly high" in the most troubled areas, notably Madagascar, Malawi and Mozambique, the report notes.

In some regions, inadequate stocks of cereal and legume seeds due to two consecutive poor harvests may limit plantings. FAO and governments are implementing agricultural support programmes to improve access to key farming inputs.

Conflicts cast a long shadow on food security

To facilitate humanitarian response planning, the report identifies the primary causes of local food crises. These range from exceptional shortfall in food production and widespread lack of access - due to low incomes, high prices or disrupted distribution networks - to the impact of conflicts on local food security conditions.

Civil conflicts and their consequences, including refugee movements that are burdening host countries such as Cameroon and Chad, are cited in 21 of the 39 countries. Widespread conflict can lead to the loss and depletion of households' productive assets, as in Central African Republic, and to security concerns that hinder farming activities, as in South Sudan.

In parts of South Sudan, improved harvests are likely to have only a short-lived effect as ongoing conflict has reduced the ability to engage in agriculture, posing extra risks for the most vulnerable communities.

Continuing civil conflict in Syria has led to 9.4 million people requiring food assistance. This year's wheat production is estimated to be around 55 percent below its pre-crisis level. The ongoing conflict in Yemen has likely increased the number of food-insecure people from the 14.2 million people assessed in June, the report said. The recent escalation of conflict in Iraq is triggering a widespread internal displacement. Acute food insecurity affects more than 8 million people in Afghanistan and their numbers are likely to increase with the return of around 600,000 refugees from Pakistan before the end of 2016.

The number of food insecure people in Nigeria is above 8 million and is projected to increase to 11 million by August 2017. The ongoing conflict in northern states curtailed plantings, while the sharp depreciation of the Naira currency has raised domestic food prices and affected regional trade as more Nigerian cereals are exported while fewer livestock are imported.

Agricultural trends appear poised to improve after rough 2016

Droughts and weather effects linked to El Niño triggered significant crop shortfalls in 2016 in several countries. Africa's aggregate cereal production declined in 2016 despite some sub-regional gains, notably in West Africa and the Sahel region, which is on track for a record cereal production. Maize output in Southern Africa decreased sharply, severely stressing food security conditions.

Poor harvests triggered sharply higher prices for staple maize in Malawi, where 6.5 million people are expected to be food insecure during the upcoming lean period. On a positive note, with El Niño over, preliminary estimates point to a 27 percent increase in maize plantings for South Africa's 2017 crop, by far the region's largest producer.

While much of Asia benefited from robust food production in 2016, led by a sharp recovery in India, the impact of long-running conflicts in several Near Eastern countries continues to severely depress agricultural production despite generally beneficial weather conditions for staple grain crops.

In Latin America and the Caribbean, expectations of a production rebound in Central America in 2016 are welcome, following the drought-affected outputs in the previous year, while the 2017 planting season in South America is off to a favourable start after a reduced 2016 crop mostly due to droughts in Bolivia, Brazil and Paraguay.

8 December 2016, ROME--The FAO Food Price Index dipped slightly in November, marking a mild departure from its steady rise over the course of 2016.

The Index declined 0.4 percent from October, averaging 171.3 points in November, as a sharp drop in sugar prices outweighed an increase in palm oil quotations.

FAO's Food Price Index, a trade-weighted index tracking international market prices for five major food commodity groups, is still 10.4 percent higher than in November 2015.

The FAO Sugar Price Index fell 8.9 percent from October, reflecting reports of a higher-than-expected harvest in Brazil, the world's largest sugar producer, and a weakening of the Brazilian real with respect to the U.S. dollar.

The FAO Vegetable Oil Price Index rose 4.5 percent in the month, led by lower-than-anticipated production of palm oil in Southeast Asia as well as below-potential soybean crushing of in South America.

Other commodities were more stable. The FAO Meat Price Index was unchanged from October. The FAO Dairy Price Index rose 1.9 percent, continuing a recent upward trend after a protracted slump. The FAO Cereal Price Index declined 0.6 percent, as global supplies are ample and strong harvest prospects in Argentina and Australia weighed on wheat quotations.

New forecasts eye all-time high for global cereal inventories

FAO updated its forecasts, projecting record global cereal stocks by the end of the 2017 seasons. According to the latest Cereal Supply and Demand Brief, also released today,production prospects, especially for wheat and coarse grains, have improved progressively since the start of the current marketing season.

FAO now expects worldwide cereal stocks to rise to 670 million tonnes, up 1.4 percent from the previous season.

Wheat inventories are seen to be rising to a new record of 238.5 million tonnes, with the increase concentrated in China, the United States and the Russian Federation. Global rice inventories have been scaled up to 171 million tonnes, while coarse grains stocks are projected to rise to 261 million tonnes, as a large build-up of maize inventories in the United States more than offsets a hefty drawdown in China.

The projection for world cereal production in 2016 was raised to 2 577 million tonnes, 1.7 percent above the 2015 output. Record output levels are forecast for rice and maize.

Looking forward to the 2017 season, low price prospects are expected to lead to a contraction in the area planted with wheat in the U.S., although plantings are expected to increase in the Russian Federation, Ukraine, India and Pakistan.

Maize plantings in Argentina and Brazil, currently under way, are poised to increase, buoyed by improved returns and favourable weather.

In South Africa, maize plantings are forecast to jump by nearly a third over last year's level. Conducive weather conditions point to a strong rebound in the country's maize harvest from the 2016 drought-reduced level.

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FAO-Newsroom@fao.org (FAO-Newsroom)http://www.fao.org/news/story/en/item/458033/icode/http://www.fao.org/news/story/en/item/458033/icode/Thu, 08 Dec 2016 09:00:00 GMTEmergency seed distributions help Haitian farmers grow for winter harvest With little time to lose to secure a winter harvest in Hurricane-struck Haiti, FAO has begun emergency distributions of seeds and tools to help disaster-affected families produce food and restore livelihoods lost in the country’s biggest humanitarian crisis since the 2010 earthquake.

6 December 2016, Rome− With little time to lose to secure a winter harvest in Hurricane-struck Haiti, FAO has begun emergency distributions of seeds and tools to help disaster-affected families produce food and restore livelihoods lost in the country's biggest humanitarian crisis since the 2010 earthquake.

Hurricane Matthew struck in October during Haiti's second main harvest time, causing losses to agriculture of $580 million and striking a major blow to the country's food security.

Family farming −a primary food source for most Haitians− took an especially heavy blow in the hurricane that wiped out 90 percent of the country's harvest.

The latest food security assessment conducted just after the hurricane showed that some 1.4 million people are in need of food assistance. Out of this number, more than 800 000 people are in urgent need of food aid and some 600 000 base their livelihood exclusively on agriculture.

In the heaviest-hit areas −including Grand'Anse, parts of Nippes, and Sud departments −over 75 percent of the population is struggling with the effects of the hurricane, as livelihoods based on agriculture, livestock and fisheries were almost completely destroyed.

"Hurricane Matthew not only eliminated the last harvest - it also compromised the upcoming planting season and the country's ability to feed itself. That's why it's so important we act now and in a robust way," said Nathanael Hishamunda, FAO Representative in Haiti. "These communities need urgent support to prevent them from adapting survival strategies that put them into a vicious cycle of dependence, including eating seeds meant for producing food in future harvests," he added.

To address both immediate and long-term food needs, FAO is collaborating with the World Food Programme (WFP), which provide food aid to the same families that receive FAO emergency seeds as planting materials. This ensures farming families can use the seeds distributed for growing vegetables to recover their livelihoods and feed their communities in the months to come.

Last week alone, in the presence of Haiti's agriculture minister Pierre Guito Laurore, FAO has begun distributing emergency supplies to some 22 500 people in Marfranc, one of the hardest-hit parts of Grand'Anse department. These communities received 15 tonnes of seeds that will produce an estimated 75 tonnes of green beans and 90 tonnes of lima beans for hurricane-affected families. These short-cycle crops are ideal in emergencies as they provide food quickly. In an effort to reboot sweet potato production, farming communities will further benefit from the distribution of over 2.2 million sweet potato cuttings for planting in the winter growing season.

In all, FAO emergency intervention for the winter staple crop season and short-cycle horticultural crops will have, by mid-December, reached 25 050 households −125 250 people− in the most affected departments of Haiti, including 5 400 households in Grand'Anse, 15 150 in Sud, 2 000 in Nord-Ouest, 1 500 in the Artibonite, and another 1 000 across Sud-Est and Ouest. FAO is also providing immediate assistance to 1 500 fisher families and 2 500 herder families.

Longer-term support plan

Haiti's agricultural spring season starting in April 2017 will be crucial. The spring season traditionally makes up 60 percent of Haiti's annual production and is the main source of food for rural households along the year. To achieve this, FAO will provide both seeds and tools, as well as cash transfers, technical training and extension services. Other activities will support markets rehabilitation and strengthen local market value chains. The same support will be extended to livestock owners and fishers who have lost their assets and productive capacity, ensuring equal benefits for affected men and women.

Many livestock keepers lost valuable animals in the hurricane and with it important sources of milk, meat and income. The destruction of pastureland, meanwhile, is limiting the availability of feed for their remaining livestock. In response, FAO plans to vaccinate and treat livestock, restock diminished herds and help livestock farmers produce fodder to keep their animals healthy and productive.

FAO will also distribute fishing equipment, such as fishing lines and hooks, engines and gear, to fishers who have lost their livelihoods in the hurricane.

Funding needs

Of the $9 million FAO required for immediate assistance to 300 000 hurricane-affected people, $5.6 million is still missing to provide immediate crop, livestock and fisheries support.

To support the longer-term recovery and resilience of Haiti's farming communities, FAO has developed a 12-month response plan that targets 600 000 severely food insecure people. Of the $30 million required under the plan, only 1.5 million has been received so far.

"There is a Creole slogan within the department of agriculture - Agrikilti-a kapab fè goud la gen plis vale - that says farming holds the potential to boost Haiti's economy and its currency. And we need the international community to come closer together now to help farmers fulfil that potential," Hishamunda added.

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FAO-Newsroom@fao.org (FAO-Newsroom)http://www.fao.org/news/story/en/item/456668/icode/http://www.fao.org/news/story/en/item/456668/icode/Tue, 06 Dec 2016 09:00:00 GMTProgress towards defeating hunger slows down in Asia-Pacific, obesity on the rise, as diets change Progress toward defeating hunger in the world’s most populous region has slowed and countries of Asia-Pacific must redouble their efforts if the Sustainable Development Goal of zero hunger is to be met by 2030, the UN’s Food and Agriculture Organization warned today.

6 December 2016, Bangkok – Progress toward defeating hunger in the world’s most populous region has slowed and countries of Asia-Pacific must redouble their efforts if the Sustainable Development Goal of zero hunger is to be met by 2030, the UN’s Food and Agriculture Organization warned today.

The Asia-Pacific region is home to more than 60 percent of the roughly 800 million hungry people in the world. Since 1990, the region as a whole managed to reduce hunger by half – a key objective of the former Millennium Development Goals (MDGs).

But most of those gains were made in the earlier part of that quarter-century. Presently, 12 percent of the region’s population remains undernourished – some 490 million people – most of them in Southern Asia.

“The analysis in this report is an eye-opener and a wake-up call to all of us here in Asia and the Pacific,” said Kundhavi Kadiresan, FAO Assistant Director-General and Regional Representative, during the launch of the report today in Bangkok, Thailand. “To some, the year 2030 may still seem far away, but it’s only 14 years from now and we still have nearly half-a-billion hungry people in this region. That 12 percent represents some of the poorest and hardest to reach people. So the clock is ticking, but with political will and collective action we can reach our goal of zero hunger.”

The FAO report acknowledges that eradicating hunger also means reducing poverty and that there are several challenges facing the Asia-Pacific region, economically, socially and environmentally, particularly as populations continue to grow. This is further highlighted by the forecast that the world’s population will expand by a further two billion inhabitants to more than nine billion people by 2050.

The FAO report indicates that zero hunger can be achieved, provided that a number of steps are followed, particularly by increasing investment in more efficient production methods and agricultural research.

“Most countries in this region are spending too little on agricultural research,” said Kadiresan. “So in order to meet both the zero hunger goal and ensure everyone is well nourished in Asia-Pacific by 2030, we will, collectively, need to put our money where our mouths are to ensure we can meet these twin challenges. FAO stands ready to provide the technical expertise to help our member countries meet these goals.”

New approaches to tackle hunger and malnutrition welcomed – but changing diets add another dimension

The report’s key thematic approach examines the challenges of addressing persistent hunger and undernutrition in the context of limited natural resources. It also takes a closer look at other aspects of malnutrition arising from poor diets such as the rise in obesity and ‘hidden hunger’ from micronutrient deficiency. While figures differ country to country, the regional rate of obesity has been increasing by more than four percent annually.

The FAO report also offers analysis of some of the other emerging issues in the region, such as dietary diversification and implications for food production systems, food safety, and policy. As countries and their inhabitants grow richer, diets and demands for certain foods change. This change is happening rapidly in Asia, where per capita rice consumption has declined and consumption of livestock products, fish, fruits and vegetables has grown rapidly.

“The most striking example of this is the rapid take up of dairy products across the region,” said Kadiresan. “While increased consumption of milk and dairy products holds out excellent promise to improve nutrition, policy-makers need to ensure that the region’s small-holder dairy farmers – the largest segment of dairy producers – can have fair access to, and compete in, the marketplace,” she added.

In a significant new development, the report introduces a new indicator that measures household and individual levels of food insecurity. The Food Insecurity Experience Scale provides an innovative approach to measuring the prevalence of food insecurity, based on direct responses of individuals about their access to food. This promising new tool permits a more disaggregated analysis of food insecurity by place of residence, gender and other factors.

The release of the FAO publication “2016 Asia and the Pacific Regional Overview of Food Insecurity – Investing in a Zero Hunger Generation,” now available online, was followed by a panel discussion on ways and means to achieve SDG 2’s fundamental objective of “Zero Hunger” by 2030. The panelists were drawn from government, promoters of healthy food, right to food advocates, the private sector and a UN sister agency (WFP).

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FAO-Newsroom@fao.org (FAO-Newsroom)http://www.fao.org/news/story/en/item/456804/icode/http://www.fao.org/news/story/en/item/456804/icode/Tue, 06 Dec 2016 08:00:00 GMTAt UN Biodiversity conference, new guidelines for agro-environmental policies in Latin America & Caribbean In an effort to combat the impacts of environmental degradation and promote sustainable agriculture in the face of climate change, FAO this week presented a set of Voluntary guidelines for agro-environmental policies meant to support policy makers in Latin America and the Caribbean.

6 December 2016, Cancun, Mexico - In an effort to combat the impacts of environmental degradation and promote sustainable agriculture in the face of climate change, FAO this week presented a set of Voluntary guidelines for agro-environmental policies meant to help policy makers in Latin America and the Caribbean in their ongoing work to eradicate hunger and poverty in the region.

The guidelines were introduced at an event on the sidelines of COP 13 - the UN conference on Biodiversity taking place in Cancun, Mexico, December 4-17 - for an audience of ministers and representatives of Latin American and Caribbean countries.

The guidelines will serve as a template for countries to create their own policies to promote sustainable production and consumption patterns, enabling them to transform their agricultural systems, ensure sustainable development and comply with the Paris Climate Agreement.

According to FAO, the transition to a sustainable future requires action on the intersection of economy, society, agriculture and natural ecosystems.

The countries of Latin America and the Caribbean share common environmental challenges, including the need to adapt agriculture to climate change, conserve biodiversity, manage their water resources and soils, and mitigate their greenhouse gas emissions.

Other participants in the event included Mexico's National Commission for the Knowledge and Use of Biodiversity (CONABIO), the Secretariat of Agriculture, Livestock, Rural Development, Fisheries and Food (SAGARPA), the Secretary of Environment and Natural Resources (SEMARNAT) and the NGO Razonatura.

Protecting the resources that support food security

Thirty-seven percent of the surface area of Latin America and the Caribbean is used for agricultural activities, which presents great challenges for sustainable food production and the care of the environment.

According to FAO, the region is experiencing increasing pressure on the natural resources that underpin food production and food security.

The guidelines presented at the COP13 point out that the impacts of environmental degradation and climate change mainly affect the most vulnerable social sectors.

Family farmers, small scale fishermen, smallholder forest producers, indigenous peoples and traditional communities are among those most directly dependent on natural resources for their subsistence and food security.

In Latin America and the Caribbean, family farmers account for 75 percent of total producers -involving some 60 million people - a number that exceeds 90 percent in some countries. These farmers safeguard the environment and the natural resources on which they depend and their work is key for the sector's current and future development.

The implementation of these guidelines may enhance the potential environmental benefits of agricultural, forestry, fisheries and aquaculture activities, reduce their impacts on ecosystems and improve food availability, as well as food and nutritional security.

The countries of the region, with FAO's support, will promote these voluntary guidelines as a guide to improving policies under an agro-environmental approach that links society, territory, environment and economy in a more integrated and harmonious way.

Policies emerging from these guidelines will be formulated through interaction with different social actors, and seek to promote rural development with a territorial approach, according to principles of conservation and sustainable management of natural resources.

Precious resources under threat

Latin America and the Caribbean accounts for 15 percent of the world's total agricultural land, receives almost 30 percent of precipitation and generates 33 percent of global runoff.

However, the rapid exploitation of minerals, gas, forests and pastures is producing dramatic changes in land use: the region currently accounts for 14 percent of global land degradation, a figure that reaches 26 percent for Mesoamerica.

Although deforestation has declined in recent decades, the region still has the second highest rate in the world, and each year more than two million hectares of forest are lost.

In the last three decades water extraction has doubled in the region at a rate well above the world average, most of which is used in agriculture.

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FAO-Newsroom@fao.org (FAO-Newsroom)http://www.fao.org/news/story/en/item/458063/icode/http://www.fao.org/news/story/en/item/458063/icode/Tue, 06 Dec 2016 00:00:00 GMTLand access and restitution at the heart of peacebuilding in Colombia Support for Colombia is based on the FAO-driven Voluntary Guidelines on the Responsible Governance of Tenure , which have been developed to assist governments in safeguarding people's rights to property or access to land, forests and fisheries.

6 December 2016, Rome - FAO will support Colombia in carrying out a comprehensive rural reform aimed at strengthening food security and peace, including measures which address issues of land access and restitution on behalf of the millions of farmers affected by the conflict that plagued the country for more than 50 years.

The topic was the focus today of a parallel event at the FAO Council - which represents the Member States of the Organization. In August, the Colombian government and the FARC requested FAO to support the implementation of the first point of the peace agreement, which focuses on hunger, rural development and comprehensive rural reform.

"The (peace) agreement reached proposes a profound change in the rural areas of the country. It will enable production to diversify, improve incomes and promote governance of land and natural resource tenure," the Director-General said.

"FAO has accumulated a great amount of experience in these areas that it can offer to the Colombian Government, but the solutions will be born from the real needs of the communities and from the exchange of their points of view," he added.

Graziano da Silva pointed out that for reforms to be effective, they will need to involve civil society and institutions that have been "historically far from the state".

FAO will promote cooperation to mobilize resources for Rapid Response Strategy projects, as defined by the Government of Colombia in its post-conflict policy.

Social protection

A key aspect to strengthen the impact of the peace agreement, Graziano da Silva stressed, will be to link social, productive and environmental policies so that they can help rebuild the fabric of Colombia's rural areas, including agricultural activities and livelihoods.

FAO can contribute to this by monitoring and evaluating the social protection programmes that the Colombian government has already put in place to support people who are the most vulnerable. These programmes will be linked to family farming through public procurement.

"The success of this peace process also requires including those who have been left behind," the FAO Director-General said referring to indigenous and Afro-descendant communities, youth, and rural women. They "must make their voices heard and participate actively in the reconstruction of peace in Colombia," he added.

Graziano da Silva underscored the need to involve in the peace process Colombia's "magnificent universities" and research centres and to mobilize resources that allow its sustainability.

The Director-General also noted the urgent need to create laws that guarantee the right to food, work and a decent life, a task in which, he said, the Colombian Parliamentary Front against Hunger should play a key role.

There is no peace without sustainable development, and there is no sustainable development without peace, reiterated the Director-General, emphasizing that both have a fundamental precondition: that all citizens have access to a dignified life and food necessary to lead a dignified life.

Building dialogue and solidarity to unlock rural potential

Colombia has the potential of more than 20 million hectares of arable land, according to the Colombian ambassador to Italy, Juan Mesa Zuleta. "Today Colombia has only 7 million hectares planted and we are importing food from the world that we could plant on our own soil," he said speaking at today's event at FAO. The ambassador placed Colombia among the seven countries of the world "that can best contribute" to ending world hunger.

"We need to ensure that farmers can work the land, plant their products and market them. We must support the peasant at all stages of his activity. Only in this way can we ensure that their products are consumed by the community to which they belong, at a good price, managing to combat hunger and making the countryside an activity with technological advances, organized and profitable," Mesa Zulueta said.

To that end, FAO Representative in Colombia Rafael Zavala, said that "it is necessary to continue to build the dialogue, which also includes recovering solidarity between rural and urban areas, to build a lasting peace."

Land rights

Also speaking at today's event was César Jerez Martínez, of Colombia's National Association of Peasant Reserve Zones, who stressed the importance of these areas, which he explained are the only ones that, have legal framework to grant rights and are, therefore, the ideal "scenario" to implement the agreements and to begin the process of securitization of 7 million hectares of land.

For his part, Pedro Nolasco Présiga, representing Colombia's National Unitary Agricultural Federation, noted that a lasting peace and social justice will only be achieved if poor farmers are ensured their economic, social and political rights.

President Santos to participate in FAO event on rural women

Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos is set to visit FAO to participate in the high-level event, "Stepping It Up Together for Rural Women to End Hunger and Malnutrition," which will take place 16 December in Rome. The event is being co-organized by FAO, the Slovak Presidency of the Council of the European Union and the European Commission in close collaboration with key UN partners.

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FAO-Newsroom@fao.org (FAO-Newsroom)http://www.fao.org/news/story/en/item/458072/icode/http://www.fao.org/news/story/en/item/458072/icode/Mon, 05 Dec 2016 23:00:00 GMTWaste of food, natural resources, and human talent taking a toll on Mediterranean agriculture and rural development The agricultural traditions and food culture of the Mediterranean region have long been looked to as an example of a healthy approach to eating, underpinned by vibrant rural economies. But new challenges are now raising questions about their future, according to a new book by FAO and the International Centre for Advanced Mediterranean Agronomic Studies.

5 December 2016, Rome - The agricultural traditions and food culture of the Mediterranean region have long been looked to as an example of a healthy approach to eating, underpinned by vibrant rural economies. But demographic and environmental pressures — coupled with a changing climate and social and economic challenges — are now raising questions about the future of the region's much-heralded food systems and the implications for sustainable development.

"The world, including the Mediterranean region, is faced with a number of challenges. Various forms of waste related to food, natural resources and knowledge are embedded in these challenges and pose significant obstacles for the achievement of sustainability," write FAO Director-General José Graziano da Silva and CIHEAM Secretary General Cosimo Lacirignola in their introduction to this joint-publication.

MediTerra also looks at how human resources and potential in the region — especially among youth — are being wasted, hampering development. This includes unemployment, lack of access to education, "brain drain," and the disappearance of local knowledge and farming traditions.

The task at hand, the book says, is not merely preserving agricultural traditions, but rather re-invigorating them to make them engines of sustainable development and improved nutrition.

The new edition of the joint CIHEAM-FAO MediTerra publication — which casts a far-ranging eye over the agricultural and food systems of the broader Mediterranean region, from southern Europe to North Africa and the Near East — contains 17 chapters by groups of expert authors from both partners, organized into three main sections looking at:

The state of natural resources essential to agriculture globally and in the region, including marine fisheries, water, land, forests, plant and animal genetic diversity, and energy

Diverse aspects of food waste and losses in the world and in the region and how countries and communities are responding to the problem.

How the region's human resources and traditional knowledge are at risk of fading away, and how family farmers are responding.

Multiple challenges

MediTerra highlights a range of challenges which are bringing weight to bear on agriculture and food systems in the Mediterranean. For example:

Limited water supplies. The Mediterranean holds only three percent of global water resources but hosts over 50 percent of the world's water poor populations, around 180 million people.

In many places withdrawals of groundwater have surpassed sustainable thresholds. In agriculture — the region's biggest user — large volumes are lost due to inappropriate techniques or outdated infrastructure. Climate change will impose further stress on finite water sources.

Loss and degradation of land. The book warns of "the whittling away of arable land by advancing urbanization" as well erosion, salinization of soils and desertification, much of it stemming from unsustainable agricultural practices. Some estimates warn that if existing rates of land degradation continue, by 2020 another 8.3 million ha of agriculture land will be lost, versus 1960.

Food waste and losses. Accurate estimates of the magnitude of food losses and waste in the broader Mediterranean region are lacking, but country level data point to a major problem: in Spain, 7.6 million tonnes of food are wasted each year; in Italy, 8.8 million tonnes; in France, 9 million.

Studies of the North Africa and Near East area suggest a similar problem, with 250kg of food being wasted per household each year. The water footprint of these losses — 42 cubic kilometres each year — accounts for 17 percent of all global water losses sourced to food waste.

Fisheries and forests at risk. The sea has been a bedrock of livelihoods and food security in the Mediterranean for millennia. Today, 52 percent fish stocks surveyed are being exploited at unsustainable levels. In a similar vein, the surface area of the region's forests has dramatically declined, despite the important role that they play in local ecosystems.

A "brain drain" in agriculture. While much farming in the region is family-run, and remains competitive in the face of larger, consolidated agro-industries, some regions have seen communities and traditions fade away. In North Africa's Maghreb zone, for example, the average age of farmers is 50+ — at the same time, the region faces one of the world's highest youth unemployment rates.

Shared threats, shared solutions

Many of the challenges facing food systems, natural resources and knowledge are common to all Mediterranean countries, the book notes, highlighting the importance of a shared agenda of research and action, integrated policies and innovations — both technical and organizational — to address "triple waste" in a coordinated way.

Here CIHEAM and FAO can play a key role: they offer a unique and fertile arena for the exchanges of experiences, expertise and analysis aimed at proposing responses to the many challenges faced by the Mediterranean region.

Doing so, the book argues, "is strategic for the future of Mediterranean countries and their sustainable development."

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FAO-Newsroom@fao.org (FAO-Newsroom)http://www.fao.org/news/story/en/item/456243/icode/http://www.fao.org/news/story/en/item/456243/icode/Mon, 05 Dec 2016 11:00:00 GMTWorld Soil Day hails symbiotic role of pulses to boost sustainable agriculture Soils and pulses are crucial tools to feed the growing population and combat climate change, especially when deployed together, according to a new report by the UN Food and Agriculture Organization released on World Soil Day.

5 December 2016, ROME-Soil and pulses can make major contributions to the challenge of feeding the world's growing population and combating climate change, especially when deployed together, according to Soils and Pulses: Symbiosis for Life, a new report by the UN Food and Agriculture Organization released on World Soil Day.

"Soils and pulses embody a unique symbiosis that protects the environment, enhances productivity, contributes to adapting to climate change and provides fundamental nutrients to the soil and subsequent crops," said FAO Director-General José Graziano da Silva.

Pulses are environmentally resilient crops that deliver high-nutrition foods to people and critical nutrients to biological ecosystems. Soil, a non-renewable resource, is essential for plant life and 95 percent of the global food supply.

Pulses such as lentils, dry beans and chickpeas are nitrogen-fixing plants that can benefit soil health, leading to better growing conditions for themselves and for other plants. On average, cereals grown after pulses yield 1.5 tonnes more per hectare than those not preceded by pulses, which is equal to the effect of 100 kilograms of nitrogen fertilizer.

The new book illustrates a variety of ways that pulses and soils can be "strategic allies" in forging more sustainable food and agriculture systems.

Earlier today, FAO's Council - representing the Organization's member states - endorsed the Voluntary Guidelines for Sustainable Soil Management, a set of technical and policy recommendations on protecting the world's largest terrestrial pool of carbon. These guidelines - to be implemented at all levels - constitute the main tool to foster sustainable soil management and boost soil health.

In the efforts to advocate for and raise awareness about sustainable soil management, today the first ever Glinka World Soil Prize was awarded to the Instituto Geografico Agustin Codazzi from Colombia. The institute has a long tradition in promoting sustainable soil management in Colombia and for developing capacities of Latin American scientists. It currently has a critical role in post-conflict Colombia as it guides allocation of soils in the land restitution programme.

Pulses on the farm

One-third of the world's soils are now deemed degraded, due to a range of causes including acidification, salinization, erosion and urbanization, a matter of growing concern due to the intricate range of life-supporting ecosystem services they provide.

Introducing pulses as part of intercropping, cover crops and crop rotation farming techniques can help restore soil health. Legumes, the plant family of which pulses are a part, can grow with fewer nutrients than many others, while providing nitrogen, soluble phosphates and other needed compounds to soils.

"Pulses are architects of soil health," according to the report. They host special soil bacteria enabling the biological fixation of nitrogen, a natural process that would cost an additional $10 billion a year in synthetic fertilizers. They also foster soil carbon sequestration and cleaner water filtration.

The world is currently losing soil 10 to 20 times faster than it is replenishing it, a trend pulses can help offset. The report cites a case study in India showing how growing pigeon peas reduced soil runoff and erosion by up to 59 percent.

In the vast western wheat fields of Canada, the world's No. 2 pulse producer and leading exporter, the introduction of pulses into field rotation has trimmed the need for synthetic nitrogen by two-thirds, underscoring the substantial role pulses can play in lowering global greenhouse gas emissions.

Pulses on the plate

Pulses are a critical ally in addressing hunger, food insecurity, malnutrition and rural incomes, all cardinal goals in the Sustainable Development Agenda.

They have higher protein content - often three times as much as rice or cassava - than staple grains. Pulses also are a significant source of health-enhancing minerals, including iron, magnesium, potassium, phosphorous and zinc. Other dietary health attributes of pulses include high B-vitamin content, low fat content, no cholesterol and a low glycemic index. While low in calories, they are high in complex carbohydrates and dietary fibers.

Strategic and tailored use of optimal pulse-soil synergies will require more comprehensive data on soils. Through the Global Soil Partnership, FAO is leading international efforts aimed at enhancing the quantity and quality of soil data by establishing the Global Soil Information System, which is also essential to guide monitoring of sustainable soil management.

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FAO-Newsroom@fao.org (FAO-Newsroom)http://www.fao.org/news/story/en/item/455693/icode/http://www.fao.org/news/story/en/item/455693/icode/Mon, 05 Dec 2016 10:00:00 GMTFAO seeks to step-up its focus on climate change and on monitoring the Sustainable Development Goals FAO intends to create a new Department for Climate, Land and Water, a new Office of Chief Statistician and also appoint a new Deputy Director-General who will oversee the UN agency's work related to technical cooperation, resource mobilization, partnerships and South-South cooperation.

In this context, Graziano da Silva said FAO wants to adjust its management structure so that the agency can better assist countries in ensuring that their agricultural sectors can contribute to address critical issues relating to climate change and achieving the Sustainable Development Goals, including by improving the quality of data to monitor and evaluate progress made.

To achieve this, FAO intends to create a new Department for Climate, Land and Water, a new Office of Chief Statistician and also appoint a new Deputy Director-General who will oversee the UN agency's work related to technical cooperation, resource mobilization, partnerships and South-South cooperation.

"The time to promote these adjustments is now, otherwise FAO will lose precious time to better support countries achieve the Sustainable Development Goals," Graziano da Silva said.

He noted how the Organization is not requesting additional funding to put in place the proposed changes. The cost would instead be borne out of savings from the current biennium budget, he explained.

Praise for progress in FAO's performance

Graziano da Silva told council delegates that the United Kingdom Department for International Development (DFID) in a new report has recognized FAO's improved performance in recent years.

The FAO Director-General quoted an excerpt from DFID's 2016 Multilateral Development Review which states: "The FAO stands out in this 2016 Review as a much improved performer. This improvement was underpinned by strong direction from the top of the organization."

The DFID report underscored how: "FAO now has a clearer vision and reports on results, it has modernized its management structure and delivered significant efficiency savings of over $100 million between 2011 and 2015."

Graziano da Silva described this as "an outstanding recognition" of the measures implemented in the last years, in which FAO management and member countries together have made the agency "more and more efficient and effective".

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FAO-Newsroom@fao.org (FAO-Newsroom)http://www.fao.org/news/story/en/item/456662/icode/http://www.fao.org/news/story/en/item/456662/icode/Sun, 04 Dec 2016 23:00:00 GMTMainstreaming biodiversity to guarantee food security and nutrition “Biodiversity is essential for food security and nutrition,” FAO Deputy Director Genera Maria Helena Semedo said at the opening High-Level Segment of the 13th Session of the Conference of the Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD).

2 December 2016, CANCUN, Mexico -Maintaining biological diversity is important for producing food and to conserve the very foundation of life and rural livelihoods, FAO Deputy Director-General Maria Helena Semedo told participants in an international summit aimed at protecting biodiversity.

"Biodiversity is essential for food security and nutrition," Semedo said at the opening High-Level Segment of the 13th Session of the Conference of the Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD).

"It is needed to sustainably produce nutritious and abundant food and to adapt agriculture, forestry and fisheries to global challenges, such as climate change and growing populations," she said. "Reducing the ecological footprint of agricultural sectors through sustainable practices will contribute to the conservation of biodiversity."

She added "maintaining biological diversity in agricultural sectors is important for producing nutritious food, improving rural livelihoods and enhancing the resilience of people and communities."

"If we want to transform the world, end poverty, reach zero hunger and ensure the lasting protection of biodiversity that humanity and its food systems depend on, then we have to respond through an all-inclusive effort that cuts across sectors and ministries," she added.

Semedo cited agroecology as "an example of the transformation we need".

"Agroecology, combining scientific research and local and traditional knowledge, allows the development of sustainable practices and improved knowledge about agricultural ecosystems," she added.

The Deputy Director General of FAO expressed "the need to build bridges between the sectors, identify synergies, align goals and develop integrated cross-sectoral approaches to mainstreaming biodiversity into agricultural sectors" and proposed "through the creation of a platform for mainstreaming biodiversity, to support its members to commit to concrete and measurable transformative steps towards sustainable crop and livestock agriculture, and fisheries and forestry practices."

Some 10,000 participants are gathered for a two-week meeting in Cancun to discuss ongoing implementation of the CBD, which since coming into force in 1993 has adopted 367 decisions.

The COP13 will focus on mainstreaming biodiversity across relevant sectors, especially agriculture, fisheries, forestry, and tourism, to contribute to the sustainable development goals, climate action, food security and other human development goals. Among the themes to be discussed are how biodiversity can be linked to climate and business initiatives, supply chains, sustainable production and consumption, and how effective partnerships and financing arrangements can be organized.

Agriculture's double role

Agriculture is by nature a major user of biodiversity, but it also has the potential to contribute to its protection as well.

While acknowledging that there are "interactions, competition and sometimes even conflicts" between biodiversity and agriculture, Semedo also pointed to growing scientific awareness of how farming techniques can contribute to vital ecosystem functions such as maintaining water quality, controlling erosion and fostering pollination, all of which are building blocks for biodiversity.

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FAO-Newsroom@fao.org (FAO-Newsroom)http://www.fao.org/news/story/en/item/456229/icode/http://www.fao.org/news/story/en/item/456229/icode/Fri, 02 Dec 2016 16:00:00 GMTFAO/WHO conference stresses need for transformation of food systems across all sectors A high-level international symposium on nutrition ended here today with a resounding reminder of the importance of promoting healthy diets and ensuring adequate nutrition for everyone in order to eradicate hunger and malnutrition by 2030 – a goal set by the UN Member nations last year.

2 December 2016, Rome - A high-level international symposium on nutrition ended here today with a resounding reminder of the importance of promoting healthy diets and ensuring adequate nutrition for everyone in order to eradicate hunger and malnutrition by 2030 - a goal set by the UN Member nations last year. The conference was jointly organized by FAO and the World Health Organization (WHO).

"Healthy diets start with healthy soils and healthy seeds. These are the base for sustainable agriculture and for production of nutritious food. They are also important to build sustainable food systems that contribute to reduce food waste and loss," he said.

"Only healthy food systems can produce healthy diets," he added.

Concerted action at all levels

Noting that improving nutrition is a public issue, he called for stronger political commitment at national level, as well as greater collaboration among all stakeholders including the private sector, civil society and parliamentarians.

In his speech, Graziano da Silva also stressed the importance of empowering smallholder and family farmers who need better access to productive resources and should have "equal voice, equal access and equal rights in our quest to end hunger and malnutrition".

"Today's complex food and nutrition challenges can no longer be addressed by the agriculture or health sector acting in isolation," said Oleg Chestnov, WHO's Assistant Director-General for Non-Communicable Diseases and Mental Health.

"Making fruits, vegetables and pulses much more available requires policy support from agriculture. Regulating product formulation, labelling, advertisement and taxes need policy support from public health. Over the past two days, we have learned a lot about various policies and actions countries are taking. If implemented by more governments and at scale, they have the potential to reshape our food systems and improve the nutrition and health of all people," Chestnov said.

Decade of Action on Nutrition

Graziano da Silva also noted that the Decade of Action on Nutrition could be "a great platform for mobilizing concerted action to end malnutrition in every country."

"This must also be the Decade of Impact", he said.

The International Decade on Nutrition was declared by the UN in April 2016 to step up both national and international efforts to meet the nutrition-related targets of the new Sustainable Development Agenda.

"Changing the food system requires extraordinary commitment, courage and persistence, even if we have all the facts on our side. The UN Decade of Action on Nutrition 2016-2025 offers an umbrella for all nutrition actors to coordinate action and strengthen collaboration," he added.

High-level participation

Throughout the two-day event, King Letsie III of Lesotho was announced FAO's newest Special Ambassador for Nutrition. He joined Queen Letizia of Spain in this role, who also attended the symposium as special guest. The Director-General stressed that the presence of King Letsie III and Queen Letizia would help strengthen the international commitment to provide adequate nutrition for everyone.

FAO-Newsroom@fao.org (FAO-Newsroom)http://www.fao.org/news/story/en/item/456368/icode/http://www.fao.org/news/story/en/item/456368/icode/Thu, 01 Dec 2016 23:00:00 GMTQueen Letizia of Spain takes part in international nutrition symposium Queen Letizia of Spain, FAO’s Special Ambassador for Nutrition, joined more than 600 experts, international civil servants, lawmakers, academics and members of civil-society and private-sector groups in attending the International Symposium on Sustainable Food Systems for Healthy Diets and Improved Nutrition.

2 December 2016, Rome – Queen Letizia of Spain, FAO’s Special Ambassador for Nutrition, joined more than 600 experts, international civil servants, lawmakers, academics and members of civil-society and private-sector groups in attending the International Symposium on Sustainable Food Systems for Healthy Diets and Improved Nutrition.

The two-day meeting allowed for information sharing and deeper analyses of the principal tasks the world faces – and some of the successes that have been achieved – in tackling contemporary dietary challenges, as well as the presentation of strategies to overhaul the way food is produced, processed and distributed.

More than two billion people on the planet today suffer from micronutrient deficiencies that affect their health, and an estimated 150 million children below five years of age suffer stunting and other related growth problems due to inadequate diets. At the same time, 1.9 billion people are overweight, including 600 million classified as obese.

Queen Letizia, an active nutrition campaigner, participated in the session reviewing the outcomes of the symposium’s working groups, which emphasized the importance of coordinating efforts in the fight against all forms of malnutrition and the promotion of sustainable diets, deemed essential in achieving the Sustainable Development Goals.

“Her work and personal commitment as FAO’s Special Ambassador for Nutrition is a priceless contribution in the fight against malnutrition around the world,” said FAO Director-General José Graziano da Silva, who also participated in the session along with Spain’s Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Environment, Isabel García Tejerina.

The symposium was held to “push for the implementation of commitments made during the Second International Conference on Nutrition (ICN2) and to support member states,” Graziano da Silva said. “FAO is determined to dedicate all of its effort to the achievement of the commitments of the 2030 Agenda, but we are aware that we will need all the help and involvement of the international community,” he added.

Queen Letizia’s presence and participation “reinforces this commitment and underscores her continuous contribution in the activities, goals and ideals of this Organization and all of its Members,” Graziano da Silva said.

Healthy diets for people, sustainable diets for the planet

Queen Letizia also attended the special event, structured as a TedTalk, on the role chefs can play in the campaign.

Jenny Chandler, a popular food writer, cooking teacher and a FAO Special Ambassador for the International Year of Pulses, gave an spirited talk on how people can contribute to both healthy and sustainable diets in their everyday lives.

“Imagine if we all posted pictures or recipes when we cooked good, sustainable food, it doesn’t have to be vegan, or vegetarian, just natural home-cooked food where meat or fish aren’t always necessarily the stars of the show,” Chandler told a packed auditorium at FAO’s headquarters. “That’s the concept we need to spread, it’s all about balance, it’s not a question of giving up anything, there should be no feeling of deprivation just sometimes eating in a different way that happens to be healthier for both us and the planet.

Chandler emphatically championed the role of traditional meals. “Much of our culinary heritage, from all over the world includes beautifully balanced dishes that aren’t over indulgent in any case and we must hang on to them,” she said. “Now’s the time to revisit pulses and other parts of our food heritage and realise that they are simply better for us, and usually also taste better than the highly processed foodstuffs that have taken their place,” she added.

We have a duty to our children to inspire them with a passion for, not just eating good food but understanding where it comes from and preparing it too,” Chandler said.

Queen Letizia also visited “What I Eat: Around the World in 80 Diets”, a photographic exhibition showing elements of various diets around the globe and the variety of foods they rely on.

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FAO-Newsroom@fao.org (FAO-Newsroom)http://www.fao.org/news/story/en/item/456395/icode/http://www.fao.org/news/story/en/item/456395/icode/Thu, 01 Dec 2016 23:00:00 GMTMalnutrition in the crosshairs Responding to the mounting impacts of malnutrition on public health and economic development – estimated to cost $3.5 trillion per year – via a shift to healthier diets and food systems is the subject of a high level conference taking place at FAO's Rome headquarters.

1 December 2016, Rome - Responding to the mounting impacts of malnutrition on public health and economic development — estimated to cost $3.5 trillion per year — via a shift to healthier diets and food systems will be the subject of a high-level symposium kicking off here today.

Lamenting the fact that one in three people on the planet suffers from some form of malnutrition — either undernutrition or overweight and obesity — FAO Director-General José Graziano da Silva said that "no country is immune" from the problem whose "human, social, environmental and economic costs are overwhelming" during his opening remarks at the event co-organized by FAO and the World Health Organization (WHO).

Graziano da Silva pledged FAO's support to help countries "adopt a food systems approach to address all states of the food chain: from production and processing to marketing and consumption."

"Nutrition must be considered a public issue, a State responsibility," he said, adding that "consumers must be empowered to choose healthy food and diets" through nutrition-sensitive social protection, nutrition education, and effective and accurate labelling and advertising.

The FAO Director General also announced that King Letsie III of Lesotho is FAO's newest Special Ambassador for Nutrition.

Pledging to take up that role with energy and passion, King Letsie welcomed the fact that nutrition is now firmly on the global agenda. Noting that in Africa just a few years ago, "nutrition was not a priority for discussion, let alone investment," the King said now "the tide has turned for the better."

He encouraged symposium participants to keep up the momentum, adding: "Let us all remember the positive correlation between nutrition and the socio-economic development of nations. It is well fed and well-nourished individuals that can drive the economic development agendas of their countries."

Lesotho's leader has already been playing an active role promoting better diets as the African Union's "Champion for Nutrition." He now joins Queen Letizia of Spain, also in attendance as an FAO Special Ambassador for Nutrition.

Francesco Branca, WHO Director of Nutrition for Health and Development, delivered remarks on behalf of the Organization's Director-General, Margaret Chan. "Nutrition is a challenge for all countries. Whether it is stunting, wasting, anaemia or obesity, no country is exempt. With the sustainable development goals we are committed to end all forms of malnutrition by the year 2030," she said in her message.

"With the great leadership of many Member States, the energy of civil society, and the entrepreneurial spirit of the private sector we can collectively achieve in a short time dramatic change in food systems and the food environment, for the improvement of everybody's nutrition," Chan added.

Italian Minister of Health Beatrice Lorenzin, who chaired the symposium, observed in her remarks that "food isnot just our most basic and fundamental source of energy, but can heal us: good nutrition can be our number one weapon against chronic, noncomunicable diseases.

She called for education programs that teach not only the value of eating well but of food cultures and traditions which support health living, like the Mediterranean diet, and urged innovation and investment aimed at making nutritional gains in agriculture and food systems, as well as the creation of national observatories on nutrition to track progress on identify areas for improvement.

Complex, overlapping nutrition challenges

Today nearly 800 million people suffer from chronic hunger, meaning they regularly are unable to consume the minimum level of food energy needed to maintain an active lifestyle.

But malnutrition is more than caloric hunger; it includes micronutrient deficiencies and overweight and obesity. Poor diets are linked to a range of health problems and can perpetuate poverty and stymie economic development.

Over two billion people on the planet suffer from health-affecting micronutrient deficiencies, and an estimated 150 million children under 5 years of age are stunted due to poor diets. At the same time, 1.9 billion people are now overweight — 600 million of them are classified as obese.

And the nutrition challenges of today are complex and often overlapping — people in the very same communities can suffer from hunger, micronutrient deficiencies, and obesity alongside one another.

Forward momentum

This past April 2016 the UN declared the start of an "International Decade on Nutrition" to provide an umbrella under which diverse actors can collaborate to follow through on commitments made at the 2014 2nd International Conference on Nutrition (ICN2) and meet the nutrition-related targets of the new Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) that UN Member nations adopted last year.

Nutrition has been hard-wired into the SDGS: indeed, SDG2 calls not only for the eradication of hunger but also of malnutrition, "in all its forms.'

With an eye to spurring progress towards these goals, the symposium will, over the course of two days, offer policy-makers and parliamentarians, health and nutrition experts from government and the private sector, development professionals, and other stakeholders the opportunity to explore in-depth how food systems can be transformed to provide better nutrition for all people.

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FAO-Newsroom@fao.org (FAO-Newsroom)http://www.fao.org/news/story/en/item/455867/icode/http://www.fao.org/news/story/en/item/455867/icode/Wed, 30 Nov 2016 10:00:00 GMTKing Letsie III of Lesotho appointed FAO’s newest Special Ambassador for Nutrition King Letsie III of Lesotho was today appointed as FAO’s newest Special Ambassador for Nutrition by the Organization’s Director-General, José Graziano da Silva.

1 December 2016, Rome - King Letsie III of Lesotho was today appointed as FAO’s newest Special Ambassador for Nutrition by the Organization’s Director-General, José Graziano da Silva.

The announcement was made at the high-level International Symposium on Sustainable Food Systems for Healthy Diets and Improved Nutrition (1-2 December), held to explore country-level challenges and successes in the nutritional reshaping of food production, processing, marketing and retail systems. Malnutrition – including obesity and micronutrient deficiencies - blights the lives of billions of individuals and can trap generations in a vicious cycle of poverty.

Pledging to take up his new role with energy and passion, King Letsie welcomed the fact that nutrition is now firmly on the global agenda. Noting that in Africa just a few years ago, “nutrition was not a priority for discussion, let alone investment,” the King said that now “the tide has turned for the better.”

He encouraged symposium participants to keep up the momentum, adding: “Let us all remember the positive correlation between nutrition and the socio-economic development of nations. It is well fed and well-nourished individuals that can drive the economic development agendas of their countries.”

Lesotho’s leader has already been playing an active role promoting better diets as the African Union’s “Champion for Nutrition.” King Letsie recognised the great efforts and progress made by African countries and regional organisations such as the African Union, the New Partnership for Africa’s Development (NEPAD), the African Development Bank and the Alliance for a Green revolution in Africa (AGRA) with whom he will continue working very closely with.

A neglected subject of great importance both for individuals and countries

“To me it is a great honor to be appointed as FAO Special Ambassador for Nutrition because it is a subject matter which I feel has been neglected for many years but it is of great importance not only to us as individuals but to countries in the world as a whole, so I am hoping that through my ambassadorship I can contribute to the promotion of better nutrition and food security through the world,” he said in remarks after the meeting.

Regarding the value of traditional knowledge regarding food and healthy diets, he said: “I think we need to go back to basics and do appropriate research on the traditional foods and promote them more and better within our countries. We need to expose and elevate the importance of traditional foods and their nutritional value so that we can grow locally and eat more of them for the benefit of our health and society in general.”

Engaging all stakeholders to coordinate actions and leverage investments

“I will be guided by the FAO Director-General but my hope is to address and make contact with many people, particularly policy makers, not only in the health and agriculture sectors because nutrition is a multisectoral issue which needs a multisectoral approach,” King Letsie III said. “Experts here at FAO and at the African Union will support my work to see how I can use my office and the context that I have in the continent and elsewhere to make the message clear and see how all of us and different stakeholders can coordinate our efforts in the issue of nutrition.”

He added: “While other problems that afflict us as a continent and the world are declining, malnutrition is rising, so I’m hoping by the end of the decade we will see malnutrition in all its forms declining in both the developing world and the developed world. I hope we can follow up on the commitments that we make and we have made with tangible actions and with appropriate policies in our different countries to make sure that happens.”

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FAO-Newsroom@fao.org (FAO-Newsroom)http://www.fao.org/news/story/en/item/456262/icode/http://www.fao.org/news/story/en/item/456262/icode/Wed, 30 Nov 2016 09:00:00 GMTAgroforestry offers climate and sustainability benefits Agroforestry has a key role to play in helping the world adopt sustainable agriculture and contrast climate change, according to a high-level conference hosted by FAO today.

28 November 2016, ROME-Agroforestry has a key role to play in helping the world adopt sustainable agriculture and contrast climate change, according to a high-level conference hosted by FAO today.

"An efficient land-use approach where trees can be managed together with crops and animal production systems" is an essential component of the "new paradigm shift for sustainable agriculture," Director-General José Graziano da Silva said in a conference-opening statement delivered by Deputy Director-General Helena Semedo.

Agroforestry's mixed land-use approach makes it a tailor-made example of how the agricultural sector can contribute to the global effort to curb greenhouse gas emissions.

"In agriculture, adaptation and mitigation are two sides of the same coin," Semedo added. "We need to better explore the co-benefits of adaptation, mitigation and development."

Sustainability is a perpetual challenge and "agroforestry is of the best tools we have," said Francesco Rutelli, a former mayor of Rome who is now chairman of Centro per un Futuro Sostenibile, an Italian non-governmental organization that promotes greater awareness of the science behind climate change and the economic policy importance of environmental concerns.

"We must certainly allow trees to save us," he said, noting that the robust forests are a powerful lever to mitigate climate change.

Agriculture and climate change

Today's high-level event - organized by FAO along with Italy's Permanent Representation to the Rome-based UN agencies and the Centro per un Futuro Sostenibile- includes presentations and panels by a variety of experts in subjects ranging from zero-emissions farming models to the so-called landscape approach to assessing and modifying carbon cycles.

It is one of a series that, in the wake of the COP22 summit earlier this month in Morocco, FAO plans to host to pursue better understanding of what the agricultural sector can do not only to adapt to but also mitigate climate change.

While most countries recognized agriculture's role as a major GHG emitter, in 2014 only two percent of global climate finance was directed to agriculture, including forests, fisheries and livestock sub-sectors, Semedo said, noting the figure was "disproportionately low."

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FAO-Newsroom@fao.org (FAO-Newsroom)http://www.fao.org/news/story/en/item/455453/icode/http://www.fao.org/news/story/en/item/455453/icode/Mon, 28 Nov 2016 16:00:00 GMTMongolia and FAO set sights on South-South Cooperation to boost agricultural development Mongolia and FAO will work more closely together to promote international partnerships and exchanges that support sustainable agriculture in the East Asian country, the UN agency said today.

28 November 2016, Rome - Mongolia and FAO will work more closely together to promote international partnerships and exchanges that support sustainable agriculture in the East Asian country, the UN agency said today.

A new agreement, signed by FAO Director-General José Graziano da Silva and Mongolia's agriculture minister Purev Sergelen today, will strengthen the partnership between FAO and Mongolia on South-South and Triangular Cooperation -- a form of development partnership that boosts countries' agricultural capacity by linking their policy makers and producers with experts and technologies from around the world. This includes other emerging economies that have built special expertise in specific agricultural sectors.

FAO will support Mongolia in working with a wider array of global partners, such as international organizations, research institutions, governments and the private sector, to make Mongolia's food production more sustainable, strengthen its agribusiness and ensure lasting food security.

By bringing innovative approaches and tools to the country, these knowledge exchanges will benefit Mongolia's National Livestock Programme and other high priority national agricultural development programmes, along with policies that aim to improve farmers' incomes and living standards.

Building on previous success

The new agreement builds on two previous successful South-South exchanges between China and Mongolia that FAO helped establish between 2010 and 2016.

In the last two years alone, some 775 producers, traders and policy makers across Mongolia received in-country training from Chinese experts, and more than 20 high-level Mongolian officials and experts participated in study tours to China, where they visited agricultural institutions, relevant farms and enterprises.

These multi-year exchange projects improved animal breeding, beekeeping, crop production and agribusiness, and introduced new technologies to the Mongolian agriculture sector - a sector that builds strongly on animal husbandry, potato farming and intensive vegetable farming.

Mongolian farmers also benefited from new varieties of fodder crops and improved cultivation technologies, which offer livestock keepers more options to keep their animals strong and healthy and will make animal husbandry overall more resilient against climate change.

In the area of crop farming, new vegetable and fruit varieties, along with effective greenhouse technologies, resulted in increased yields.

Local agricultural companies also expanded marketing and sale channels thanks to South-South exchanges and trade between China and Mongolia.

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FAO-Newsroom@fao.org (FAO-Newsroom)http://www.fao.org/news/story/en/item/455441/icode/http://www.fao.org/news/story/en/item/455441/icode/Sun, 27 Nov 2016 23:00:00 GMTPastoralists’ complex tenure rights are key to community resilience To address the complex needs of pastoralists,FAO has produced "Improving governance of pastoral lands", a technical yet accessible guide on how to establish viable tenure arrangements for the often-marginalized people who use around a third of the earth’s surface.

25 November 2016, ROME--Assuring adequate tenure rights to land is an important step in improving food security for millions of people in developing countries, but safeguarding tenure isn't so straightforward when it comes to the way land is used by mobile pastoralist communities.

More than 500 million people on the planet rely on livestock herding, often steering their animals around various landscapes to reach water and pasture sources and avoid drought, animal disease and civil conflict. To address the inherently more complex needs of pastoralists, many of whom rely on covering vast territories in opportunistic ways, FAO, with the support of the International Union for Conservation of Nature, the Commission on Environmental Law and the Commission on Environment, Economic and Social Policy, has produced a technical yet accessible guide on how to establish viable tenure arrangements for the often-marginalized people who use around a third of the earth's surface.

The world's pastoralists engage in a wide variety of practices and include a great number of cultures in such diverse settings as Mongolia, Niger, Spain, Kenya, Norway and the United States of America. Pastoralists inhabit rangeland areas, many of which are arid or semi-arid, and they employ a highly adaptable livelihood strategy that is poorly understood by outsiders. Their adaptability relies on access rights that often jar with classical notions of property rights.

"Pastoralism is a system of livestock production that takes advantage of both the diversity and the seasonality of natural resources in the rangelands. It is based on large-scale, carefully planned movements of livestock, which demands high levels of coordination between multiple users. This has led to the emergence of customs and institutions that enable decisions to be effectively made and enforced by local communities," says Jonathan Davies, coordinator of IUCN's Drylands Programme and lead author of the Technical Guide.

Progress in ecological science and increasing pastoral voices in global fora have galvanized increasing attention to ways of life now seen as flexible and resilient rather than obsolete.

"Pastoralism is one of the efficient and sustainable strategies for managing rangelands and pastoralists play a key role in ensuring multi-functionality of rangelands," said Caterina Batello, a senior FAO officer specializing in ecosystem management who supervised production of the guide book.

Support for pastoralist communities contributes crucially not only to Sustainable Development Goal 2, which calls for an end to hunger and the promotion of sustainable agriculture, but also SDG 15, which demands the preservation of diverse forms of life and a halt to both land degradation and biodiversity loss.

Overlapping rights and statutory law

The technical guide aims to provide orientation on a key issue for sustainable pastoralism: securing governance and tenure for livelihoods without undermining customary arrangements.

While sometimes referred to as "fuzzy" - overlapping and subject to change - pastoralist rights, which range from access to pastures, watering points, movement corridors between seasonal grazing areas, encampments and markets, are often embedded in informal arrangements based on customary systems.

The challenge is to reconcile such customary systems with formal, statutory regimes without losing the intrinsic flexibility pastoralism requires. The technical guide outlines how this can be achieved through case studies where legal recognition of customary rights as having same value as statutory rights have been depicted.

Resilience through sustainable pastoralism

Adapted and resilient pastoral systems - which include critical functions such as soil fertilization, wider seed dispersal, improved groundwater infiltration, landscape maintenance and compatibility with local wildlife - are estimated to be two to ten times more productive per unit area and resilient over a longer period than some of the alternative land uses such as crop farming and mining that have been proposed to replace them.

Undergrazing can be as great a threat as overgrazing when it comes to environmental degradation. When conflicts led to pastoral lands being abandoned in East Africa, a lack of manure and rotational grazing led to lower plant diversity and thorny shrubs quickly took over.

Overgrazing is often a symptom of flawed governance. For example, absentee herd owners in North Africa often insist that animals remain near market centers where they can be quickly traded, leading to underutilization of distant rangelands and widespread degradation of those closer to points of sale.

New borders can also pose thorny problems. For instance, Borana pastoralists in Kenya and Ethiopia, used to give surplus animals to distant relatives in either of the countries on the understanding that, in times of need they could count on a credit to rebuild their stocks. State lines have complicated that risk-management strategy.

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FAO-Newsroom@fao.org (FAO-Newsroom)http://www.fao.org/news/story/en/item/454844/icode/http://www.fao.org/news/story/en/item/454844/icode/Fri, 25 Nov 2016 09:00:00 GMTFAO-led symposium on agroecology opens in Budapest This week in the Hungarian capital, FAO convenes decision makers, experts, civil society organizations and others for three days of discussions on the concept of “agroecology.”

Nearly 200 participants from over 40 countries across Europe and Central Asia will examine current practices in agriculture and food systems, identify opportunities for innovation, and consider how agroecology can be scaled up to help countries achieve the new Sustainable Development Goals.

Agroecological farming considers interactions between natural and human systems so that farmers can derive the full benefits that ecosystems have to offer for sustainable food production -- for example through nutrient cycling, natural regulation of pests, soil and water conservation, and carbon sequestration.

The aim is to develop food systems that are more sustainable and resilient, and that reduce or eliminate the need for external inputs, such as herbicides, pesticides and fertilizers. Agroecology also aims to stabilize yields, supporting family farmers in particular, and strengthening the economic viability of rural areas.

FAO Director-General José Graziano da Silva and Hungarian Minister for Agriculture Sándor Fazekas, representing the host country, set the tone with their opening statements this morning.

Graziano da Silva informed the meeting that two years ago, FAO had initiated a global dialogue on agroecology involving a wide range of stakeholders. This week’s symposium in Budapest – the first in the context of Europe and Central Asia – is part of a series of region-focused consultations including Latin America, Africa and Asia since 2015.

“I am particularly pleased to open this Symposium after just having returned from Marrakech, where I participated in COP 22,” Graziano da Silva said said, noting that "There is an increasing recognition of the importance of agriculture and food systems for sustainable development."

"Investing in sustainable and climate-resilient agriculture is fundamental," according to the FAO Director-General, who stressed that, "Agriculture can help us tackle climate change, poverty, and food insecurity at the same time -- agroecology can be a concrete option in addressing these challenges.”

In this context, Graziano da Silva announced the imminent launch of the “Agroecology Knowledge Hub,” a dedicated agroecology website. Knowledge and innovation are key to achieving sustainable food systems, he said, adding that the future of agriculture is not input-intensive, but knowledge-intensive.

In the transition towards sustainable food systems, agroecology seeks to create innovative mechanisms not only for food production, but also for food distribution and consumption. The Symposium will foster exchanges of knowledge, and help create an environment for collaboration and innovation.

“Agroecology is key in ensuring sustainable growth,” said Hungarian Minister for Agriculture Sandor Fazekas in his opening statement. “It is a prerequisite for sustainable agriculture, protection of biodiversity, sustainable natural resource management and supporting rural development,” he added.

Fazekas added that the main goal of the Symposium is to bring together the knowledge and experience already available among experts. “Agroecology will lead us to solutions for the most urgent global challenges of our time,” he said. “All that we are aiming for can be achieved together if we cooperate and align our actions, including member state governments, civil society actors, private and scientific organizations. FAO is an advocate and supporter of this, as evidenced by today’s conference.”

The Symposium will also aim to identify government initiatives and key entry points for agroecology in national policies and common European policies.

Approaches to agroecology are as diverse as the region itself. In countries such as Switzerland and Hungary, agroecological approaches are well established, and France has taken steps to engage the majority of its farms in agroecological methods by 2025. In other countries, agroecological approaches could be enhanced.

The agroecology symposium -- taking place Nov. 24-25 -- is organized by FAO, hosted by the Government of Hungary, with the support of the Government of France.

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FAO-Newsroom@fao.org (FAO-Newsroom)http://www.fao.org/news/story/en/item/454888/icode/http://www.fao.org/news/story/en/item/454888/icode/Wed, 23 Nov 2016 23:00:00 GMTSwift action, massive education push needed to avoid plunge over “unsustainability precipice,” top UN official says Speaking at FAO, UN General Assembly President Peter Thomson has called for an energetic push in the next decade to implement the Paris Climate Treaty and advance the new global sustainable development agenda.

23 November 2016, Rome - Warning that humanity's current pathway will cause it to plunge over the "precipice of unsustainability" if unaltered, a top UN official today called for an energetic push in the next decade to implement the Paris Climate Treaty and advance the new global sustainable development agenda.

Although the Paris Treaty aims to limit global warning to a 1.5 to 2 degree rise in global temperatures, "we are still at the moment heading for a 3-4 degree rise and it's not clear that civilization as we know it can continue to function at those levels," UN General Assembly President Peter Thomson of Fiji told government representatives gathered at FAO today for an event on the new, internationally-agreed 2030 Sustainable Development Agenda.

In addition to climate change, other pressing issues the Agenda aims to tackle include population growth, poverty and inequality, environmental degradation, and natural disasters, which are driving conflict, migration, and hunger and malnutrition.

Implementing the 2030 Agenda over the next decade to rise to these challenges "presents humanity with its greatest test," Thomson said, urging a massive effort to educate young people on why its success is critical for their future.

"My generation will not change and will continue on the path to the precipice. But young people — who have most skin in the game, because they will be adult when 2030 comes around — do have the ability to change and to force their parents to change their consumption patterns," Thomson said.

"The choices they make will determine whether we succeed or fail," he added, calling on governments to ensure that the SDGs are incorporated into curriculums and "taught in every school on this planet."

"These agreements provide us with the universal masterplan we need for peace and prosperity," he argued, adding: "The stakes are as high as they possibly can be: Humanity's place on this planet depends on its success."

All states now have a responsibility to mainstream the Sustainable Development Goals and these agreements into their national planning and programming — and work together to find innovative ways to come up with the $5-7 trillion in public and private financing achieving them will require — according to the UN General Assembly President.

Thomson praised recent advances in doing just that, citing the "inspiring" high level of commitments by leaders at the just-concluded Marrakesh Climate Summit to build on recent momentum to address climate change and implement of the 2030 Agenda.

Pulling together as one

Also speaking today were FAO Director-General José Graziano da Silva, World Food Program (WFP) Executive-Director Ertharin Cousin, and Perin St. Ange, Associate Vice President of the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD).

They stressed the strong partnership that exists between the Rome-based UN food agencies to support countries in achieving the 2030 Development Agenda.

"Working together is fundamental to ensuring that no one is left behind," said Graziano da Silva.

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FAO-Newsroom@fao.org (FAO-Newsroom)http://www.fao.org/news/story/en/item/454347/icode/http://www.fao.org/news/story/en/item/454347/icode/Tue, 22 Nov 2016 23:00:00 GMTKeeping the focus on grain pulses Consumer awareness of the nutritional and dietary benefits of pulses remains inadequate and more must be done to promote their role in food systems, FAO Deputy Director-General Maria Helena Semedo said today.

22 November 2016, ROME-Consumer awareness of the nutritional and dietary benefits of pulses, the edible seeds of leguminous plants and notably including lentils, chickpeas, cowpeas and many dry beans, remains inadequate and more must be done to promote their role in food systems, FAO Deputy Director-General Maria Helena Semedo said today.

Progress has been made thanks to initiatives during 2016, the International Year of Pulses, but "it essential to keep the momentum alive," Semedo told participants in a Global Dialogue held at FAO headquarters.

Known for their relatively high protein content and their particular ability to take nitrogen and fix it in soils, pulses also a fertile building block for other crops as well.

"Pulses should not only be valued for their qualities, but also get the policy attention they deserve," she said.

The United Nations General Assembly declared 2016 the International Year of Pulses, and leading sponsorship roles were taken by Pakistan and Turkey. Lentil dahls are a hugely important staple across South Asia, while chickpeas have been found in Neolithic pottery excavated in southeast Anatolia.

"There is much still to do in research on pulses" to make them resilient to environmental stresses and help reduce rural poverty, said Nadeem Rivaz, the Permanent Representative to FAO for the Islamic Republic of Pakistan and co-chair of the IYP's steering committee.

Promotion of pulses can help foster inclusive economic growth, and greater attention to pulses is already opening export opportunities for countries such as Ethiopia and Myanmar, said Murat Salim Esenli, Permanent Representative-Designate of the Republic of Turkey to FAO and the other IYP co-chair.

The two-day Global Dialogue event allows for key stakeholders and experts from around the world to review the year's activities, which include the publication of academic papers, advocacy activities and initiative to establish lasting recommendations.

More on Pulses

Promoting the production and consumption of pulses can contribute to key Sustainable Development Goals - especially those regarding nutrition, poverty, soil health and climate change - in what Semedo called a "virtuous socioeconomic cycle" that guarantees food and nutrition security for the whole community.

In Malawi, many farmers have been encouraged to intercrop maize and grain legumes, leading to increased food security and income. In Zambia, local women farmers are now producing nearly half of the pulses found in school meals.

Many pulse types are highly water efficient and suited for dry farming conditions. Growing pulses as a cover crop is a climate-smart technique that improves both farm productivity and resilience, Semedo said. It also improves soil health, reducing the need for synthetic fertilizers and thus leading to a reduction in greenhouse gas emissions, she added.

Dry beans account for around a third of global pulses production, with dry peas and chickpeas each contributing a further one-sixth of worldwide output. Other important pulses are broad beans, lentils, cowpeas and pigeon pea.

"Pulses offer a lot of opportunities to food diversification, and I call upon the chefs worldwide to explore the rich world of pulses and use their creativity to invent new recipes", said Maggy Habib, FAO's IYP Special Ambassador for the Near East. Around 62 million tonnes of pulses are grown each year, with India by far the largest producer although also a net importer. The value of internationally-traded pulses is around $7 billion, with China, Brazil, Canada, Myanmar and Australia all major contributors.

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FAO-Newsroom@fao.org (FAO-Newsroom)http://www.fao.org/news/story/en/item/454169/icode/http://www.fao.org/news/story/en/item/454169/icode/Tue, 22 Nov 2016 13:00:00 GMTFAOSTAT offers more, better and easier-to-access data on key agricultural indicators FAO is pleased to launch a new and revamped FAOSTAT web site, making the world’s most comprehensive statistical database on food, agriculture, fisheries, forestry, natural resources management and nutrition even more accessible for public use.

22 November 2016, ROME- Biotechnology and drones may be the most visible innovation areas in the world of agriculture, but spare a thought for new approaches to data dissemination.

Data - costly to produce and often complex to communicate - is the key decision-support tool for policy makers engaged in concrete action.

FAO is pleased to launch a new and revamped FAOSTAT web site, making the world's most comprehensive statistical database on food, agriculture, fisheries, forestry, natural resources management and nutrition even more accessible for public use.

The updated web-based tool, now in its fourth edition, includes a host of behind-the-scenes technological improvements as well as user-friendly innovations such as full compatibility with mobile devices and superior download options that will significantly improve the overall user-experience.

FAOSTAT offers free, open and easy access to time-series and cross-sectional data for 245 countries and territories starting from 1961. It typically receives around 200 000 visits per month from national statisticians, government officials, researchers, the private sector, international agencies, civil society and the media from all over the world.

Easier to use, more to see

It now offers a completely new state-of-the-art user interface, accessible by smartphone and tablet as well as by personal computer. Its search options have been enhanced, filters improved and navigation simplified, while the overall system architecture has been made more flexible, allowing quicker publication of new data sets in the future.

Data visualization has been improved with the new tool, and it is now possible to download customized data sets, maps and charts that users could previously only browse.

The new FAOSTAT also introduces a new feature, presenting a set of ready-to-use key indicators - ranging from land use and food production to food access and government budget allocations for agriculture - by country, region and for the whole world.

Some of these indicators are those adopted to assess and measure progress towards the targets set in the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. FAO is the custodian of 21 key SDG indicators, and FAOSTAT will help monitor the international community's pledges to eradicate extreme poverty, hunger and malnutrition by 2030 as well as promote sustainable agriculture and use of natural resources.

Moreover, with the entry into force of the Paris Agreement on climate change, international organizations will help countries to put in place and monitor national actions for climate change adaptation and mitigation.

FAOSTAT's data set on greenhouse gas emissions is already being used to facilitate analysis of where the best mitigation options lie along food-system supply chains, helping countries and their farmers to develop faster and more targeted climate-smart strategies that boost resilience and food security as well as enabling access to international climate funding.

FAOSTAT is easily accessible at: www.fao.org/faostat.

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FAO-Newsroom@fao.org (FAO-Newsroom)http://www.fao.org/news/story/en/item/451861/icode/http://www.fao.org/news/story/en/item/451861/icode/Tue, 22 Nov 2016 10:00:00 GMTFAO and the Vatican condemn illegal fishing and forced labour on the high seas, urge collective action FAO and the Vatican havecalled for an intensified international push to stamp out human rights abuses in the world's fishing industry — including trafficking of people and forced labour — as well as an end to the scourge of illegal fishing.

21 November 2016, Rome - FAO and the Vatican today called for an intensified international push to stamp out human rights abuses in the world's fishing industry — including trafficking of people and forced labour — as well as an end to the scourge of illegal fishing.

Speaking at an event co-organized by FAO and the Vatican to mark World Fisheries Day, the UN agency's Director-General José Graziano da Silva said that — although fishing provides food and income for millions of people — "sadly, the same industry that offers so many opportunities also victimizes the most vulnerable."

"We have seen increasing media attention focusing on human abuses in the sector, in both developed and developing countries. These include instances of labour abuse, forced labour, trafficking, child labour and slavery," Graziano da Silva noted. "FAO and the Holy See are calling for collaboration between all partners to work together in order to end human rights abuses along the entire fisheries value chain," he said.

"We have to guarantee that the seafood reaching our plates has been produced not only in an environmentally sustainable manner; but also in a manner that supports the socio-economic well-being of those who harvest and process it," he said.

The Vatican Secretary of State, Cardinal Pietro Parolin, said in his keynote address that action is needed on three broad fronts: providing aid to exploited fishermen to facilitate their reintegration; ensuring that compliance with existing international rules on fishing; and fighting against trafficking and smuggling to impose the rule of law and human rights standards.

"Only by working together, and coordinating our efforts, will we be able to break the chain of exploitation that affects the fishing industry in many countries," he said.

Parolin was presenting a new Message of the Holy See condemning "the tragic reality that within the fishing industry there are hundreds of thousands of internal and transnational migrants who are trafficked for forced labour."

Likening the situation of abused fisheries workers to "modern-day slavery," Gianni Rosas, Director of the ILO Office for Italy and San Marino, also welcomed recent positive developments. These include rising consumer awareness of the need to buy only fairly and sustainably produced fish, as well as advances at the international level to develop effective institutional mechanisms such as the 2014 Protocol to the ILO Convention on Forced Labour and ILO's Convention 188 on Work In Fishing

Breakthroughs and new tools

Both FAO and the Vatican hailed the news that enough countries have now ratified Convention 188 on to trigger its entry-into-force in November 2017.

The Convention is designed to ensure that workers in the fishing sector benefit from safety and health care, written work agreements, and social security protections.

FAO and the Vatican also urged countries and the fisheries industry to make use of another newly active tool, the FAO port State Measures Agreement, to put an end once and for all to the problem of illegal, underreported and under reported (IUU) fishing, which robs an estimated 11-26 million tons of fish from the oceans each year.

Vessels involved in illegal fishing are frequently the same ones where human rights abuses run rampant. The PSMA — the first-ever binding international treaty targeting IUU — will catalyse an uptick in port inspections of fishing vessels, allowing for better controls to ensure that the human rights of crews are not being violated.

Both ILO Convention 188 and the PSMA — combined with increased international awareness on labour and social issues — provide FAO, ILO and partners in industry, labour and fisherfolk communities and consumers associations with a new momentum to end instances of labour abuses in the entire value-chain.

Far from shore, isolated, and abused

Victims have described enduring a raft of ills while working on-board vessels in remote locations for months or even years at a time.

These include forced labour and debt servitude, beatings and psychological abuse, inadequate food, and unsanitary living conditions. Hours are long and hard and workers are sometimes supplied with amphetamines to keep up.

It is common that workers are lured into these situations via deceptive or coercive recruitment processes. Once on-board, they can remain trapped for months — even years.

Generally, relatively few fishers are members of trade unions, written contracts are scarce, and protection of labour rights is weak. Where regulations do exist, enforcement is poor.

Indeed, effective monitoring poses a number of challenges — ocean spaces are vast, and ships are constantly moving from one country to another or operating in high seas areas not under any national jurisdiction.

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FAO-Newsroom@fao.org (FAO-Newsroom)http://www.fao.org/news/story/en/item/453811/icode/http://www.fao.org/news/story/en/item/453811/icode/Sun, 20 Nov 2016 23:00:00 GMTUN food agencies call for urgent action to address southern Madagascar’s worsening food insecurity Farmers in southern Madagascar, hit by three years of devastating drought, urgently need more support so they can plant crops in time for the December and January planting seasons, the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) and the World Food Programme (WFP) said today.

FAO/WFP Joint News Release

Rome/Antananarivo, 18 November

- Farmers in southern Madagascar, hit by three years of devastating drought, urgently need more support so they can plant crops in time for the December and January planting seasons, the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) and the World Food Programme (WFP) said today.

They stressed that more funding is required to provide this support and help address southern Madagascar's worsening food insecurity.

FAO will start distributing plant cuttings and seeds next month, targeting some 170,000 farming families in the most food-insecure districts of the south. At the same time, these same families will receive food or cash as part of an ongoing WFP relief programme so they can sustain themselves until the next harvest in March/April. WFP has been distributing food to people in the areas of greatest need since June and cash in places with functioning markets since July.

"The planting season offers a small window of opportunity for local farmers to restore agricultural production. Thousands of families are already facing hunger. Missing the planting season now will result in a serious food and livelihood crisis, and render their situation even more desperate," says José Graziano da Silva, FAO Director-General.

Some 850,000 people - about half the population of the south - are facing hunger and need urgent humanitarian assistance, according to latest Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC) findings. These indicate that food and nutrition security could deteriorate even further in coming months unless humanitarian action is rapidly scaled up. Overall, some 1.4 million people are estimated to be food insecure in 2016/17 in the three southern regions of the island.

FAO is sourcing sweet potato and cassava cuttings as well as a variety of drought-tolerant seeds for smallholder farmers to plant. Tools will also be distributed and support offered to families with livestock.

"As I saw recently in the south of Madagascar, farmers are in a dire situation," says WFP Executive Director Ertharin Cousin. "But, through a joint response, our two agencies can begin to turn this situation around, not only by providing immediate relief but by giving communities the means they need to feed themselves."

While WFP and FAO have secured funds to help launch their joint planting assistance programme, they cannot reach all the drought-hit farming families without more funding. Out of $22 million needed, FAO has only received $4.5 million. WFP's drought relief operation, which runs till March 2017, is facing a $50 million shortfall out of a total of $82 million required.

The lack of sufficient rains brought about significant declines in the production of maize, cassava and rice production in the south of the island earlier this year. Meanwhile, rising prices continue to reduce people's purchasing power and erode the food security of the most vulnerable. Many households have adopted survival strategies, eating less often, consuming seeds, and selling animals, agricultural tools and even land.

Farmers will also receive tools to replace those that may have been sold during the current extended hunger season. Support to livestock production will also be provided through supplementary feeding of livestock and animal health-related activities.

WFP responseWFP is scaling up its ongoing food and cash relief operations to reach nearly 1 million vulnerable people by the end of this month. At the same time, WFP is expanding its nutrition programme to prevent and treat malnutrition among more than 200,000 pregnant women, nursing mothers and children under five, while continuing to assist some 230,000 school children with daily hot meals.

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About FAO FAO leads international efforts to defeat hunger. It helps countries to modernize and improve agriculture, forestry and fisheries practices and ensure good nutrition for all. FAO focuses special attention on developing rural areas, home to 70 percent of the world's poor and hungry people. For more information visit: www.fao.org or follow FAO on Twitter @FAOnews.

About WFPWFP is the world's largest humanitarian agency fighting hunger worldwide, delivering food assistance in emergencies and working with communities to improve nutrition and build resilience. Each year, WFP assists some 80 million people in around 80 countries. Follow us on Twitter @wfp_media, @wfp_mena

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FAO-Newsroom@fao.org (FAO-Newsroom)http://www.fao.org/news/story/en/item/453663/icode/http://www.fao.org/news/story/en/item/453663/icode/Thu, 17 Nov 2016 23:00:00 GMTAfrica-funded project helps small-island nations adapt to perils of climate change Recognizing the disproportionate burden that climate change places on small island developing states (SIDS), FAO will support six African island nations in their efforts to make their agriculture more resilient to climate shocks and boost economic development, the agency said today.

17 November 2016, Rome -- Recognizing the disproportionate burden that climate change places on small island developing states (SIDS), FAO will support six African island nations in their efforts to make their agriculture more resilient to climate shocks and boost economic development, the agency said today.

The $1.5 million project -- funded through the Africa Solidarity Trust Fund - will focus on a variety of activities to mitigate and adapt production to changing climate conditions, and make farming practices overall more efficient.

Farmers in Cabo Verde, Comoros, Guinea-Bissau, Mauritius, Sao Tome and Principe, and Seychelles will benefit from training and knowledge exchanges on climate-smart food production, as well as ways to create viable market opportunities for nutritious food.

Among these climate-smart agriculture practices are the use of a range of easy-to-grow crops of high nutritional value that will make production more resilient to adverse conditions. Other initiatives focus on innovative ways to increase food production. These include the introduction of fish aggregation devices - also known as fish magnets - to attract more fish to catch areas and increase the availability of nutritious seafood in local markets.

On the marketing side, the project includes activities to help smallholders identify opportunities to enter high-value niche markets through Fair Trade or Organic labelling, to ensure the project is sustainable. To promote regional agricultural trade initiatives, the project will focus on strengthening regulations and agreements between importers and exporters. The project will also work with local government to identify policy opportunities, including ways to stimulate healthy nutrition trough food-based dietary guidelines and nutrition education programming.

In all, the project aims to increase the countries' capacities, from the farm-level to the policy level, to reduce the double burden of malnutrition: tackling persistent hunger, on one hand, and rising obesity, on the other.

Global climate action

The agreement was signed on the sidelines of COP22 in Marrakesh, the UN's global climate conference set to adopt action items that will bring to life last year's much-anticipated Paris Climate agreement. Among them are actions to counter the devastating impacts of climate change on agriculture and water.

Ending hunger and poverty

It's widely accepted that these impacts also pose a major threat to international efforts to end hunger and poverty.

SIDS countries overall struggle with high levels of unemployment and poverty, and rely heavily of imports for their food.

Because people's livelihoods in these island nations depend heavily on fisheries, tourism and crop production, climate change has the potential to aggravate these vulnerabilities and derail the development progress made over recent years.

For this reason, FAO's continued support small-island nations in Africa focuses on interventions that address social, economic and environmental vulnerabilities, while boosting local production of nutritious food.

Africa Solidarity Trust Fund

The Africa Solidarity Trust Fund was launched in 2013 as a unique Africa-led initiative to improve agriculture and food security across the continent. It's doing so by assisting countries and regional organizations to eradicate hunger and malnutrition, eliminate rural poverty and sustainably manage natural resources. The fund draws on contributions from Equatorial Guinea ($30 million), Angola ($10 million) and a symbolic contribution by civil society organizations in the Republic of the Congo.

Since its inception, the Fund has already provided financing for 16 projects in 38 countries including building resilience for conflict affected rural communities, reducing rural poverty through youth employment opportunities and building best practices to increase crop and livestock production.

Speaking at the high-level action day on agriculture and food security, Graziano da Silva noted that climate change impacts on agriculture - including crops, livestock, forestry, fisheries, land and water - are already undermining global efforts to assure food security and nutrition.

And the rural poor are the most affected.

With over 90 percent of countries referring to the important role of agriculture in their national plans to adapt to and mitigate climate change, Graziano da Silva stressed that

"it is time to invest in sustainable and climate-resilient agriculture as a fundamental part of the climate solution."

Last year's conference in Paris led to the world's first legally binding global climate deal. The current summit in Marrakech, Morocco is geared to implementation of the pledges all signatory countries made. Echoing the prevalent spirit at the COP, the Paris Agreement is irreversible and inaction would be a disaster for the world.

Transforming agriculture - maximizing benefits

Although agriculture contributes to nearly 20 percent of greenhouse gas emissions, it is a fundamental part of the solution to boost resilience and combat climate change impacts - especially in developing countries where agriculture is often the backbone of the economy.

Sustainable agriculture also improves the management of natural resources such as water; conserves biodiversity and ecosystem services; and increases carbon sequestration while easing the pressures that drive deforestation.

"We have to transform agriculture to make it more productive and more resilient at the same time. This transformation will help to address, at the same time, the triple threat of hunger, poverty and climate change," FAO's Director-General said. "Countries are recognizing this potential with unprecedented commitments."

Scaling up international flows of climate finance and unlocking additional investment in adaptation in agricultural sectors is needed to give traction to the action, he added.

A concerted push to put agriculture at the center of climate action

Featuring agriculture-focused initiatives, today's special event co-organized by FAO and the Ministry of Agriculture of Morocco, is part of the Global Climate Action Agenda, led by the COP22 Climate Champions, Laurence Tubiana (France) and Hakima El Haité (Morocco), and aimed at joining and accelerating efforts by the public and private sectors to meet international climate goals.

In a bid to tackle the impact of global water scarcity, today FAO launched the Global Framework for Action to Cope with Water Scarcity in Agriculture in the Context of Climate Change.

Water scarcity - already a major global issue - will intensify with climate change and pressures linked to population growth. From California to China's eastern provinces and from Jordan to the southern tip of Africa, an estimated four billion people - almost two-thirds of the global population - live with severe water shortages for at least some of the time.

Water scarcity "is one of the main challenges for sustainable agriculture," Graziano da Silva said. "I invite countries and partners to join this initiative."

The so-called Triple A "will drive action in precisely the areas we need to transform the agriculture sectors" - sustainable land and soil management, better water management and comprehensive climate risk management - and FAO will collaborate strongly to scale up the initiative.

That will require larger climate finance flows for adaptation, and for agriculture in particure, he said, noting that currently only two percent of climate finance is being directed at the agriculture sector. "That is extremely low, and quite below our needs," he said.

Cost of inaction far outweighs action

The world has signed up to the ambitious aims of the 2030 Sustainable Development Agenda and the Paris Agreement to fight hunger, poverty and climate change.

"For millions of people, our actions can make a difference between poverty and prosperity, and between hunger and food security," FAO's Director-General said.]]>

FAO-Newsroom@fao.org (FAO-Newsroom)http://www.fao.org/news/story/en/item/453416/icode/http://www.fao.org/news/story/en/item/453416/icode/Wed, 16 Nov 2016 14:00:00 GMT10 million hectares a year in need of restoration along the Great Green Wall A groundbreaking map of restoration opportunities along Africa's Great Green Wall has been launched at the UN climate change conference, based on collection and analysis of crucial land-use information to boost action in Africa's drylands to increase the resilience of people and landscapes to climate change.

Marrakech, 16 November 2016 - A groundbreaking map of restoration opportunities along Africa's Great Green Wall has been launched at the UN climate change conference, based on collection and analysis of crucial land-use information to boost action in Africa's drylands to increase the resilience of people and landscapes to climate change."The Great Green Wall initiative is Africa's flagship programme to combat the effects of climate change and desertification," said Eduardo Mansur, Director of FAO's Land and Water Division, while presenting the new map at the COP22 in Marrakech. "Early results of the initiative's actions show that degraded lands can be restored, but these achievements pale in comparison with what is needed," he added during a high-level event at the African Union Pavilion entitled: "Resilient Landscapes in Africa's Drylands: Seizing Opportunities and Deepening Commitments".Mansur hailed the new assessment tool used to produce the map as a vital instrument providing critical information to understand the true dimension of restoration needs in the vast expanses of drylands across North Africa, Sahel and the Horn.Drawing on data collected on trees, forests and land use in the context of the Global Drylands Assessment conducted by FAO and partners in 2015-2016, it is estimated that 166 million hectares of the Great Green Wall area offer opportunities for restoration projects.The Great Green Wall's core area crosses arid and semi-arid zones on the North and south sides of the Sahara. Its core area covers 780 million hectares and it is home to 232 million people. To halt and reverse land degradation, around 10 million hectares will need to be restored each year, according to the assessment. This will be major a contribution to achieving the Sustainable Development Goals by 2030. The data were obtained by analysing 63 000 half-hectare sample plots spread across the drylands of North Africa, Sahel and the Horn with FAO's Open Foris Collect Earth tool and very-high-resolution satellite images provided by Google Earth Engine and Bing Maps. The data collection is a collaborative effort of the African Union, the CILSS/AGRHYMET Regional Centre, the Directorate General of Forests (Tunisia), Addis Ababa University (Ethiopia), FAO, Google and the World Resources Institute. A great green mosaic

Experts say a variety of restoration approaches will be required to bring the Great Green Wall initiative to an effective scale and create a great mosaic of green and productive landscapes across North Africa, Sahel and the Horn. These include natural regeneration allowing farmers to protect and manage the natural regeneration of forests, croplands and grasslands. Where degradation is more severe, large-scale land preparation and enrichment planting is needed, mobilizing high-quality seeds and planting materials and involving communities in the selection of the native species to be used. Even closer to the desert, sand encroachment can be fought by establishing and protectingthe most adapted native woody and grassy vegetation and implementing sustainable management of oases systems. Developing comprehensive value chains that benefit local communities and countries has the potential of transforming the lives of millions of people in Africa's drylands, making the Great Green Wall initiative a game-changer for the continent. The drylands map was made possible with the support of Action Against Desertification, an initiative of the African, Caribbean and Pacific Group of States (ACP) in support of the Great Green Wall programme , national UNCCD action plans and south-south cooperation to promote sustainable land management and restore drylands and degraded lands in Africa, the Caribbean and the Pacific, implemented by FAO and partners with funding from the European Union in the framework of the 10th European Development Fund (EDF). ]]>

FAO-Newsroom@fao.org (FAO-Newsroom)http://www.fao.org/news/story/en/item/452701/icode/http://www.fao.org/news/story/en/item/452701/icode/Tue, 15 Nov 2016 23:00:00 GMTSyria food production at all-time low Food production in Syria has hit a record low as widespread insecurity and unfavourable weather conditions in parts of the country continued to hamper access to land, farming supplies and markets, making it ever more difficult for farmers to maintain their livelihoods and feed the war-torn country.

FAO/WFP Joint News Release

15 November 2016, Rome - Food production in Syria has hit a record low as widespread insecurity and unfavourable weather conditions in parts of the country continued to hamper access to land, farming supplies and markets, making it ever more difficult for farmers to maintain their livelihoods and feed the war-torn country.

The latest Crop and Food Security Assessment Mission (CFSAM) conducted by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) and the World Food Programme (WFP) shows that after five years of conflict many farmers have lost the ability to cope. Rising prices and scarcity of essential inputs such as fertilizers and seeds mean they will have no other option than to abandon food production if they do not receive immediate support. This will likely have grave consequences not only for the food security of farming households but also on food availability in the country, and may ultimately lead to further displacements.

Cereals at an all-time low

The area planted to cereals in the 2015-16 cropping season is the smallest ever, according to the report, based on field visits and surveys across the country.

Farmers planted an estimated 900,000 hectares of wheat in the last year, compared to 1.5 million hectares planted before the crisis. Production, meanwhile, shows an even more drastic decline, from an average 3.4 million tonnes of wheat harvested before the war to 1.5 million tonnes this year - a decrease of 55 percent.

Because the ongoing crisis and associated sanctions have disrupted trade and markets, access to quality seeds, fertilizers, machinery and fuel needed to operate pumps and tractors is limited. Those inputs that are available on local markets are frequently overpriced and of dubious quality.

Poor rainfall and the destruction of valuable irrigation infrastructure has made matters worse for growers trying to continue to produce food under adverse circumstances. In some instances, this has led farmers to switch from cultivating valuable and nutritious crops to hardier but less nutritious ones.

At the same time, the assessment showed vast differences among the governorates in terms of access to land and agricultural inputs − a sign of possible opportunities to intensify support to producers in areas that are relatively accessible.

"Today, we see almost 80 percent of households across Syria struggling with a lack of food or money to buy food - and the situation is only going to become worse if we fail to support farmers so they can maintain their lands and livelihoods," said Abdessalam Ould Ahmed, FAO Assistant Director-General and Regional Representative for the Near East and North Africa. "Agriculture was the main source of livelihood for rural households before the crisis and it is still producing to a certain extent, but it is stretched to the maximum and farmers have largely exhausted their capacity to cope," he added.

"The food security situation of millions of people inside Syria continues to deteriorate with more than seven million people classified as food insecure across the country having exhausted their life savings and no longer able to put food on the table for their families," said Muhannad Hadi, WFP Regional Director for the Middle East, North Africa, Central Asia and East Europe. "WFP and FAO are working together to invest in more livelihood projects in agriculture as the most effective way to address food insecurity in the long term."

Effects on livestock

Livestock producers are equally feeling the effects of the crisis. With the upkeep of their animals becoming ever more difficult and costly, many herding families have been forced to sell or slaughter their sheep, goats and poultry.

Ongoing fighting and widespread insecurity continues to limit access to grazing land and water sources, while animal feed has become unaffordable for many pastoralists. This is particularly true in areas with large numbers of internally displaced people who brought their livestock with them when fleeing their homes. The country's veterinary service, meanwhile, is rapidly running out of animal vaccines and routine drugs, making it harder for herders to keep their animals healthy and productive.

As a result, Syria - once an exporter in livestock - has seen its herds and flock shrink significantly since the beginning of the crisis. Today, there are 30 percent fewer cattle, 40 percent fewer sheep and goats, and a staggering 60 percent less poultry − traditionally the most affordable source of animal protein in the country.

Price hikes and disrupted trade

General shortages and cuts in fuel and some food subsidies have added to rising inflation and depreciation of the Syrian pound − from 395 to 530 per USD − further limiting Syrians' ability to afford essential imports.

Over the last 12 months, prices of agricultural and livestock products increased. Due to economic sanctions, market disruptions and the declining value of the Syrian pound, prices of farming inputs have risen sharper than final products. As a result, farmers are incurring heavy losses.

Transportation bottlenecks and fragmented markets prevail, as producers, transporters and traders are facing extremely high costs and security risks. This has resulted in surplus supply in the northeast while the west largely relies on imports. Urgent support is therefore also needed to connect in-need communities with surpluses in other parts of the country, including by purchasing local stocks for food assistance deliveries.

Increased supply, thanks to newly harvested crops and airdrops of food assistance into the besieged city of Deir Ezzor, brought down the price of wheat flour by 12 to 15 percent in several key markets in June 2016. But wheat prices were nevertheless between 40 and 50 percent higher in June when compared to the same period last year.

Critical response

Because the conflict has greatly reduced the government's capacity to procure and distribute high-quality seeds at subsidized prices, many farmers are being forced to deplete their seed stocks, borrow from relatives and neighbours, or purchase expensive seed from the market.

To help families continue to grow food and raise livestock, FAO in 2016 has so far supported over 500,000 people with distributions of cereal and vegetable seeds, live poultry for backyard farming, animal feed and vaccination campaigns.

Since 2011, the conflict has displaced close to 11 million people, with 4.8 million fleeing to neighbouring countries. Many of those internally displaced within Syria have been displaced multiple times.

WFP provides food assistance to more than 4 million vulnerable Syrians every month inside Syria. About 30 percent is delivered to besieged and hard-to-reach areas across Syria through cross-border and cross-line deliveries.

A large share of Syria's livestock farmers are among those who moved to safer areas, bringing their livestock with them. For crop farmers across Syria, however, few options remain but to try to continue working their fields or alternatively abandon their only source of income for an uncertain future among the millions seeking safety in increasingly overburdened host communities elsewhere.

According to the latest household surveys, some 9.4 million people across Syria are in need of assistance - some 716,000 more than in September 2015. The governorates with the biggest increase of people in need are Quneitra, Dara'a, Damascus, Idleb, and Aleppo.

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About FAO

FAO leads international efforts to defeat hunger. It helps countries to modernize and improve agriculture, forestry and fisheries practices and ensure good nutrition for all. FAO focuses special attention on developing rural areas, home to 70 percent of the world's poor and hungry people. For more information visit: www.fao.org or follow FAO on Twitter @FAOnews.

About WFP

WFP is the world's largest humanitarian agency fighting hunger worldwide, delivering food assistance in emergencies and working with communities to improve nutrition and build resilience. Each year, WFP assists some 80 million people in around 80 countries. Follow us on Twitter @wfp_media, @wfp_mena

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FAO-Newsroom@fao.org (FAO-Newsroom)http://www.fao.org/news/story/en/item/452217/icode/http://www.fao.org/news/story/en/item/452217/icode/Tue, 15 Nov 2016 09:00:00 GMTGiant research leap is needed to rein in farm-driven antimicrobial resistance Mounting evidence that food systems may be major conduits of anti-microbial resistance (AMR) point to the need for greater vigilance over the way antibiotics are used on farms, according to a new FAO report, Drivers, Dynamics and Epidemiology of Antimicrobial Resistance in Animal Production

15 November 2016, ROME-Mounting evidence that food systems may be major conduits of anti-microbial resistance (AMR) point to the need for greater vigilance over the way antibiotics are used on farms.

While antimicrobial resistance was first described in 1940, scientific understanding of the myriad of pathways by which resistance emerges and spreads remains in its infancy. The global use of synthetic products to indiscriminately kill bacteria, viruses, parasites and fungi in agricultural and food systems requires a concerted effort to map, understand and mitigate the risks of AMR, according to Drivers, Dynamics and Epidemiology of Antimicrobial Resistance in Animal Production.

AMR may be a natural genomic process for bacteria, but it was "very rare in clinical isolates predating the introduction of antibiotics," FAO's new report notes. As foods from around the globe are today frequently contaminated with antibiotic resistant E. coli and Salmonella, "measures which encourage the prudent use of antimicrobials are likely to be extremely useful in reducing the emergence and spread of AMR," the 67-page technical report says.

The report, launched during World Antibiotic Awareness Week, a joint initiative by FAO, the World Health Organization (WHO) and the World Organisation for Animal Health (OIE) to raise awareness of one of the biggest threats to global health, summarizes the magnitude of AMR in the food and especially the livestock sector, which is expected to account for two-thirds of future growth in antimicrobial usage.

The report's key recommendations are the need to support and pursue more research - involving both molecular sequencing and epidemiological analyses - into factors influencing how and why resistant bacteria become incorporated into human and animal gut microbiomes as well as the need to create standardized monitoring procedures and databases so that adequate risk-assessment models can be built.

Use of antimicrobials solely to promote animal growth should be phased out. Instead, alternatives to antibiotics to enhance animal health - including enhanced vaccination programmes - should be more vigorously pursued. Antimicrobial residues in the environment, especially in water sources, should be tracked in the same way as other hazardous substances, the report urges.

"Given our current limited knowledge of transmission pathways, options to mitigate the global spread of AMR involve controlling its emergence in various environments, and minimizing the opportunities for AMR to spread along what may be the most important routes," the report says.

What we are learning

While cautious about how much remains unknown, the authors - experts form the Royal Veterinary College in London and FAO experts led by Juan Lubroth - highlight compelling evidence of the scale of the threat.

For instance, U.S. honeybees have different gut bacteria than found elsewhere, reflecting use of tetracycline in hives since the 1950s. Fish farms in the Baltic Sea show fewer AMR genes than aquaculture systems in China, which are now reservoirs of genes encoding resistance to quinolones - a critical human medicine whose use has grown because of increasing resistance to older antimicrobials such as tetracycline.

The recent detection of resistance to colistin, until recently considered a last-ditch antibiotic in human medicine, in several countries also underscores the need to scrutinize livestock practices, as the drug has been used for decades in pigs, poultry, sheep, cattle and farmed fish.

Sizing up mitigation options

The report focuses on livestock because future demand for animal-based protein is expected to accelerate intensive operations - where animals in close contact multiply the potential incidence of AMR pathogens.

Poultry, the world's primary animal protein source, followed by pork, are important food-based vehicles of AMR transmission to humans. Cases in Tanzania and Pakistan also demonstrate the risk of AMR coming from integrated aquaculture systems that use farm and poultry waste as fish food.

High biosecurity may reduce AMU requirements, thus reducing the risk of emergent resistances. Likewise, prevention of food contamination and removal of bacteria from the food chain can be very effective in reducing AMR transmission. A recent study of Nebraska cattle found strains of E.coli on all hides, but on only 0.5 percent of carcasses and none in the meat headed for retail consumers. Environmental vectors - including wind, soil, waste, and water - may prove more difficult AMR transmission pathways to control.

As animals metabolize only a small fraction of the antimicrobial agents they ingest, the spread of antimicrobials from animal waste is an important concern.

While smallholder systems may rely less on antimicrobials, they often use over-the-counter drugs without veterinary advice. Inappropriate, sub-lethal, dosing promotes genetic and phenotypic variability among the exposed bacteria that survive.

Collectively, while there are still many gaps in our understanding about AMR, evidence about AMR in food systems is growing and points to the need for immediate action.

Working collaboratively across all sectors and aspects of food production, from farm to table, will provide an essential contribution to an integrated one-health approach to combat AMR.

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FAO-Newsroom@fao.org (FAO-Newsroom)http://www.fao.org/news/story/en/item/451675/icode/http://www.fao.org/news/story/en/item/451675/icode/Tue, 15 Nov 2016 08:00:00 GMTThe South Centre and FAO step up cooperation to intensify South-South activities FAO is joining forces with the South Centre, an intergovernmental organization of developing countries, to help the countries of the Global South eliminate hunger and malnutrition, reduce poverty, address climate change and achieve sustainable rural development under the umbrella of South-South cooperation.

11 November 2016, Marrakesh - FAO is joining forces with the South Centre, an intergovernmental organization of developing countries, to help the countries of the Global South eliminate hunger and malnutrition, reduce poverty, address climate change and achieve sustainable rural development under the umbrella of South-South cooperation.

A five-year Memorandum of Understanding was signed today by Maria Helena Semedo, FAO Deputy Director-General for Natural Resources, and Vicente Paulo Yu, Deputy Executive Director of the South Centre on the sidelines of the 22nd Conference of the Parties to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (COP22) in Marrakech (7-18 November 2016).

Building on years of successful collaboration, and given the growing importance of South-South Cooperation, the South Centre and FAO have agreed to broaden the scope of their joint activities, including capacity building for developing countries to strengthen their ability to implement sustainable development policies, facilitate exchange of information and knowledge, and promote technology transfer and innovation.

Both FAO and the South Centre share a common interest in supporting the developing world in its efforts to overcome major development challenges arising from chronic food insecurity, climate change and acute poverty. Worldwide there are around 800 million food insecure people, while 2.1 billion people are poor, including 900 million who live in extreme poverty. Enhancing the cooperation between the two organizations is an important step towards Zero Hunger and more sustainable rural development.

FAO and the South Centre will also promote sustainable management of natural resources including land, water, air and genetic resources for the benefit of present and future generations, help developing nations build resilient rural livelihoods, and apply more sustainable agricultural practices including organic and agro-ecology farming.

The South Centre is an intergovernmental organization of developing countries established in 1995. It currently has 53 member countries and its main objective is to promote South-South cooperation and the sustainable development through policy research, analysis, advice and capacity building in developing countries.

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FAO-Newsroom@fao.org (FAO-Newsroom)http://www.fao.org/news/story/en/item/451757/icode/http://www.fao.org/news/story/en/item/451757/icode/Thu, 10 Nov 2016 23:00:00 GMTSugar, dairy and cereals lift FAO Food Price Index in October The FAO Food Price Index averaged 172.6 points in October, up 0.7 percent for the month and 9.1 percent from a year earlier, with the staple grains’ index rising for the first time in three months.

10 November 2016, ROME--The FAO Food Price Index averaged 172.6 points in October, up 0.7 percent for the month and 9.1 percent from a year earlier, with the staple grains' index rising for the first time in three months.

The Food Price Index, which has risen continuously throughout 2016 except for a brief dip in July, is a trade-weighted index tracking international market prices for five major food commodity groups.

October's rise was driven primarily by jumps in sugar and dairy prices. The FAO Sugar Price Index rose 3.4 percent in October amid reports of production shortfalls in Brazil's Centre South region and India's Maharashtra state. The FAO Dairy Price Index rose 3.9 percent from September, led by rising prices of cheese and in particular butter, as a result of sustained internal demand in the European Union after a period during which stocks were drawn down.

By contrast, the FAO Oils/Fats Price Index declined 2.4 percent from September, largely linked to weaker palm oil quotations as a consequence of sluggish global import demand. The FAO Meat Price Index also fell, dropping 1.0 percent in October, with the drop largely driven by slacker demand for European pigmeat from importers in China.

The FAO Cereal Price Index, meanwhile, rose 1.0 percent in October, buoyed by tightening supplies of high-quality wheat even as the overall prospects for global wheat harvests have improved.

Updated forecasts for production and stocks

World cereal production for 2016 should amount to 2 571 million tonnes, up marginally from FAO's October forecast and 1.5 percent above the 2015 output.

The updated figure, released today in the Cereal Supply and Demand Brief, reflects a substantial upgrade of the outlook for world wheat production, which is now expected to rise to 746.7 million tonnes, a 4.3 million increase from FAO's October forecast.

The Russian Federation's wheat output is now anticipated to set a new record, while favourable weather is also boosting yield prospects in Kazakhstan. The increase in world wheat and barley production more than offsets the expected 4.8 million tonne decline in the 2016 global maize crop due to weather-induced yield downgrades for Brazil, China, the European Union and the United States of America. The forecast for global rice production was largely unchanged.

Early signs from the planting of the 2017 winter wheat crop in the northern hemisphere indicate that U.S. farmers are reducing the area because of low price prospects and a subdued export outlook due to a stronger U.S. dollar. However, wheat plantings in the Russian Federation and Ukraine are ahead of last year's pace.

Meanwhile, sowing of summer 2017 cereal crops is underway in southern hemisphere countries, and conducive weather conditions are leading to expansion in South America. The maize area planted in Argentina is expected to expand by 6.0 percent from last year's high level.

Total cereal utilization for the 2016/17 season is now forecast at 2 562 million tonnes, up slightly from October and 1.7 percent higher than a year earlier.

A primary driver of increased utilization of cereals is global feed use, which is likely to expand by 2.7 percent. The use of wheat for animal feed, buoyed by ample supplies of lower-quality wheat, is anticipated to grow by 6.1 percent to 146.6 million tonnes, an all-time high.

Global food consumption of cereals is forecast at 1 106 million tonnes, up 1.3 percent from a year earlier and sufficient to maintain a broadly stable per capita consumption level globally. World cereal stocks will likely increase to nearly 662 million tonnes by the end of the 2017 seasons, driven by growing wheat inventories, especially in China, the U.S. and Russia.

Coarse grains stocks are projected to drop by 1.7 percent, led by reductions in China, Brazil and South Africa. World rice inventories are expected to fall slightly to 169.8 million tonnes.

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FAO-Newsroom@fao.org (FAO-Newsroom)http://www.fao.org/news/story/en/item/451294/icode/http://www.fao.org/news/story/en/item/451294/icode/Thu, 10 Nov 2016 09:00:00 GMTParliamentarians against Hunger promote actions in line with the Paris Agreement on Climate Change More than 100 lawmakers from Latin America and the Caribbean, Africa and Spain highlighted the imperative need to act against the effects of climate change through legislation, at the opening of the VII Forum of the Parliamentary Front against Hunger.

9 November 2016, Mexico City - More than 100 lawmakers from Latin America and the Caribbean, Africa and Spain have highlighted the imperative need to act against the effects of climate change through legislation, at the opening of the VII Forum of the Parliamentary Front against Hunger.

According to the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) the Parliamentary Fronts against Hunger are key to enforcing the commitments of the Paris Agreements and the Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (COP22), especially those closely related to the fight against hunger and malnutrition.

"Parliaments can make an important contribution to the fight against climate change by adjusting national laws to international standards and facilitating the implementation of global agreements," said Tito Diaz, FAO’s Coordinator for Mesoamerica.

In addition, parliamentarians can establish the institutional frameworks and budgets that mitigation and adaptation to climate change require, linking these efforts to anti-hunger policies.

Currently, the Latin American and Caribbean Parliament is working to create a Model Law on Climate Change and Food and Nutrition Security, while the Central American Parliament is supporting a framework law to guide the countries of Central America in these matters.

Parliamentary fronts can also have a strong influence in supporting governance for the sustainable use of natural resources and the strengthening of livelihoods, two critical factors for countries facing climate change.

"It is necessary to work for a new agri-food model that feeds our whole population in a healthy and sustainable way, contributing also to the adaptation to climate change and its mitigation", said the general coordinator of the Parliamentary Front against Hunger in LAC, María Augusta Calle, at the opening of the Forum, which runs from today until November 11, in Mexico City.

Eradicating hunger in Latin America and the Caribbean

Seven years after the first Forum of Parliamentarians Against Hunger in Latin America and the Caribbean, this network has placed the human right to food at the top of the regional political agenda.

Recently, Honduras and the Dominican Republic approved their respective food security and right to food laws, while El Salvador, Mexico, Peru, Costa Rica and Colombia advanced the discussions of draft laws on the same subject.

The president of the Latin American and Caribbean Parliament (PARLATINO), Blanca Alcalá, stressed that this organism is on the verge of adopting a regional model law on family farming, already approved by its Committee on Agriculture, Livestock and Fisheries.

In addition, she stressed that the parliamentary fronts are developing a conceptual proposal to define food sovereignty, based on the legislative experiences of fifteen countries in the region.

National laws serve as legal frameworks to give sustainability to the fight against hunger and malnutrition, and support the main regional political commitment of this nature: the Plan of Food Security, Nutrition and Hunger Eradication of the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States, CELAC, which has set the year 2025 as the goal to achieve the complete eradication of malnutrition in the region.

Parliamentarians from various regions join forces

In recent years, the Spanish courts, the new Alliance in the European Parliament on Combating Hunger and the Pan-African Parliamentary Alliance for Food and Nutrition Security have become strategic partners of Latin America and the Caribbean’s Parliamentary Front Against Hunger.

The President of the Pan-African Parliament, Bernadette Lahai, said that the anti-hunger fronts represent "a route of inspiration, learning and new challenges."

Legumes against hunger and climate change

During the VII Forum, parliamentarians announced their intention to promote the production and consumption of legumes in the region.

The FAO Special Ambassador for the International Year of Pulses, Patricia Juárez, presented to the forum the positive effects of legumes in the fight against climate change and hunger.

Juárez noted how legumes fix nitrogen in the soil, improving their health and allowing for less use of fertilizers and agrochemicals.

In 2014, 85 million hectares of legumes were planted worldwide, which set 3 to 6 tons of nitrogen. As a result, legumes contribute to the rational use of fertilizers, thus reducing greenhouse gas emissions.

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FAO-Newsroom@fao.org (FAO-Newsroom)http://www.fao.org/news/story/en/item/451398/icode/http://www.fao.org/news/story/en/item/451398/icode/Tue, 08 Nov 2016 23:00:00 GMT“Coherent coordination” is key to achieving Sustainable Development Goals The “truly universal, comprehensive and inspirational” nature of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development puts a premium on “system wide coherence and coordination” across all United Nations agencies, the head of the UN’s Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) said today at a meeting in Rome.

"More than ever, the UN system will be required to leverage on the distinct expertise and comparative advantages of its parts in order to ensure cohesion and avoid duplication in implementing this cross cutting Agenda," said Frederick Musiiwa Makamure Shava, who is Zimbabwe's Ambassador to the United Nations as well as head of ECOSOC, a governance organ in change of coordinating work done by specialist agencies.

He spoke at an informal seminar attended by permanent representatives to FAO as well as officials from the World Food Program and the International Fund for Agricultural Development.

FAO's work in areas such as food security and nutrition, agriculture, livestock, fisheries and forestry go well beyond the cardinal objective of eradicating hunger and are critical "for the achievement of the entire Agenda," Shava said.

FAO Director-General José Graziano da Silva, opening the meeting, agreed that the "overlapping and closely interconnected" nature of the Sustainable Development Goals will require closer and more coherent collaboration among all partners, including within the UN system.

FAO has also agreed to support a preparatory meeting on agroindustry in Victoria Falls, Zimbabwe, early next year.

Fostering inclusive value chains for smallholder farmers in developing countries, and more decent employment in rural areas, is a cornerstone of FAO's approach on the ground. It also converges with Shava's choice to make sustainable industrialization the thematic focus of his ECOSOC presidency.

Monitoring progress on the SDGs

FAO has already overhauled some of its internal processes and intends to further bolster and streamline its contributions to the 2030 Agenda through the creation of a new senior post in charge of coordinating SDG implementation activities.

While ECOSOC is tasked with making sure that efforts to fulfill the SDGs are on track, FAO is the custodian for 21 of the indicators to be used to measure progress.

Graziano da Silva said FAO intends to create a new Office of the Chief Statistician to be in charge of that project and work under the new Deputy Director-General for Programmes. In recognition of the cross-cutting challenges the SDGs present, FAO has organized staff efforts around five goal-oriented strategic programme leadership teams to complement its traditional disciplinary divisions.

"FAO is strongly aware of the importance of deepening our collaboration with other organisms of the UN system, especially between the three Rome-based agencies," Graziano da Silva said, noting that FAO, WFP and IFAD have produced a joint paper to guide their actions in this regard and will jointly present it to countries before the end of the year.

At the same time, FAO supports the role specialized agencies can play in the UN system, considering specific mandates and expertise to represent forms of comparative advantage.

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FAO-Newsroom@fao.org (FAO-Newsroom)http://www.fao.org/news/story/en/item/450138/icode/http://www.fao.org/news/story/en/item/450138/icode/Wed, 02 Nov 2016 15:00:00 GMTFAO and OIE present initial battle plan in global campaign to eradicate Peste des petits ruminants The ground has been broken on a major international initiative to rid the world of Peste des petits ruminants (PPR) – also known as sheep and goat plague – a highly viral animal disease that causes major losses in regions home to millions of the world’s poorest people.

28 October 2016, Rome/ Paris - The ground has been broken on a major international initiative to rid the world of Peste des petits ruminants (PPR) - also known as sheep and goat plague - a highly contagious viral animal disease that causes major losses in regions home to millions of the world's poorest people.

The $996.4 -million plan launched by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) and the World Organisation for Animal Health (OIE) today is the first phase of what will be a 15-year effort to eradicate PPR by 2030.

"Wiping out PPR will have a major positive impact on the lives of pastoralist communities in all developing countries and directly support global efforts to end poverty and hunger by 2030," FAO Director-General José Graziano da Silva said about the plan. "When it comes to viral animal diseases, much attention falls on the threats they pose to human health -- but their effects on economic growth, human livelihoods, quality nutrition and food security can be equally devastating. That's why this campaign needs wide support," he added.

"We have international standards for surveillance and diagnosis of PPR, a global system to report outbreaks, and standards for vaccines that are highly effective when applied appropriately," OIE Director-General Monique Eloit said. "We also have international standards to prevent spread through trade, to officially recognise the control programmes of our Members, and their status as free when those programmes achieve success," she added. "So all the tools are available to us, and are integrated into the plan. Its successful implementation now relies on the capacity of Veterinary Services at national level -- the OIE is committed to provide them with ongoing support."

Major losses

Since it was first identified in Côte d'Ivoire in 1942, PPR has spread to some 70 countries in Africa, the Middle East and Asia -- in September 2016, Mongolia reported its first-ever case of PPR. Over 80 percent of the world's sheep and goats are found in these regions, where many families rely heavily on products like goat milk, mutton and wool for their nutrition and livelihoods. FAO estimates some 300 million small-scale farming families worldwide depend on small ruminants for food and income.

To illustrate, a recent outbreak in India alone caused $180 million in losses, while a series of epidemics in Kenya in 2006-2008 killed 1.2 million small ruminants, causing losses exceeding $23.5 million and a drop in milk production of 2.1 million litres.

In all, the annual global damage due to PPR is estimated to be between $1.4 and $2.1 billion.

While the disease is highly lethal to small ruminants —killing up to 90 percent of infected animals— it is easily preventable with inexpensive vaccines that can be administered at low cost and will protect the animal for its entire life.

The virus also has a relatively short infectious phase and does not survive for long outside a host, making it an ideal candidate for a concerted eradication effort.

The plan for the first five-year phase of that effort is now ready to be put into action and consists of a global strategy backed by nine regional road maps.

How it works

The initial portion of the campaign is focused on countries where PPR is known to exist or where its status has never been assessed. It will involve activities to raise awareness among farmers, build their capacity to prevent and contain the disease, strengthen national veterinary health services and systems for control of PPR and other diseases, and implement targeted vaccination campaigns.

But the plan goes beyond disease eradication alone- it also aims to improve national production models and help herders build the strongest, most resilient livelihoods with their animal resources.

With this approach, the agencies are looking to harness the potential of animal husbandry as a path out of poverty and valuable source of nutrition for poor families.

Together, FAO and OIE will coordinate the global efforts of governments, regional organizations, research institutions, funding partners and livestock owners through the Joint PPR Global Secretariat, based in Rome.

Replicating the success of the rinderpest strategy

It is not the first time FAO and OIE join forces to rid the world of a costly plague. The PPR initiative is modelled on the successful effort to eradicate rinderpest, a similar disease affecting cattle, buffalo and wildlife, with global declaration of freedom in 2011. It was the first time an animal disease had been eradicated worldwide.

The agencies' work on rinderpest not only showed that eradication of a major animal disease was possible and cost effective but also increased interest globally in how such efforts could be replicated to address other high impact diseases.

Meeting growing demand

With the world population set to rise to over 9.7 billion by 2050, small ruminant production is expected to rise with growing demand for meat and milk, growth that is generating new opportunitiesfor producers, processers, and sellers. With that comes stronger interest from governments and industry to make supply chains more reliable and the movement of animals safer.

A pledging conference to secure financial support for the first five-year plan will be organized early next year.

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FAO-Newsroom@fao.org (FAO-Newsroom)http://www.fao.org/news/story/en/item/449168/icode/http://www.fao.org/news/story/en/item/449168/icode/Thu, 27 Oct 2016 22:00:00 GMTCrop losses in southern Madagascar mean severe hunger likely to persist into 2017 The lack of sufficient rains in the southern region of Androy alone resulted in an 80 percent decline in maize production this year compared with the already reduced levels of 2015.

27 October 2016, Rome - The impact of severe El Niño-induced drought on crop production in southern Madagascar, where nearly 850 000 people are acutely food insecure, is likely to persist into 2017 and requires an intensified humanitarian response.

The lack of sufficient rains in the southern region of Androy alone resulted in an 80 percent decline in maize production this year compared with the already reduced levels of 2015.

Prolonged drought also seriously affected the production of another staple food, cassava, in both Androy and another southern region, Atsimo-Andrefana, where cassava production dropped by approximately half. People living in these areas have been hit by successive droughts over the last few years and their hunger situation is expected to remain severely stressed into 2017.

Meanwhile, parched conditions in the regions of Atsimo-Andrefana, Boeny, Melaky, Betsiboka and Ihorombe had a significant negative impact on rice production; with production declines of between 25 and 60 percent reported in these regions, according to a new FAO/World Food Programme (WFP) report released today based on data collected in July/August 2016.

1.4 million people food insecure

Recently updated figures show how the impact on agricultural production has undermined human food security. Some 1.4 million people are estimated to be food insecure in 2016/17 in Madagascar's three southern regions of Androy, Anosy and Atsimo-Andrefana. Of these, around nearly 850 000 are acutely food insecure -- meaning they are not able to meet their food needs and require urgent humanitarian assistance, according to the most recent Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC) analysis for Madagascar.

Rising prices continue to weigh on the purchasing power of people in general and aggravate the food security of the most vulnerable. As a result, households are reducing consumption of locally produced crops and adopting survival strategies such as consuming seeds, selling their animals and agricultural tools and increasing their consumption of nutritionally inadequate wild foods, such as red cactus fruits. Overall, these conditions reflect a spike in the number of people experiencing acute food insecurity compared with the previous year.

Impact of drought on national crop production

The drought in Madagascar's southern regions has reduced the country's overall domestic production of maize and cassava. National maize production for 2016 is estimated at 316 000 tonnes, down 4 percent compared with the harvest in 2015 and 19 percent below the average. Cassava production, estimated at 2.6 million tonnes, decreased by 16 percent versus the recent five-year average.

National rice (paddy) production benefited from good rains in the centre, northern and western parts of the country - the main rice producing areas - and is estimated at about 3.8 million tonnes in 2016, some 2.5 percent above the previous year, but still some 5 percent below the five-year average.

FAO's response

WFP and FAO are working together to target severely food insecure households with food and livelihood support, but are also ensuring that the most vulnerable households such as those headed by women and the elderly, or landless people, will not be disadvantaged. It is essential that livelihood support begins immediately in order to take full advantage of the forthcoming planting season in November.

Farmers will also receive tools to replace those that may have been sold during the current extended hunger season. Support to livestock production will also be provided through supplementary feeding of livestock and animal health related activities.

To date out of the $22 million needed for FAO's relief interventions, only $3.8 million have been secured.

This funding is urgently needed to ensure farmers do not miss the coming planting season. Local agriculture must be restored to avoid long-term dependence on food assistance.

FAO-Newsroom@fao.org (FAO-Newsroom)http://www.fao.org/news/story/en/item/449030/icode/http://www.fao.org/news/story/en/item/449030/icode/Wed, 26 Oct 2016 22:00:00 GMTA data revolution to build a Zero Hunger world Countries and international organizations need to make “tremendous” efforts and increase their investments to improve national statistical capacities to monitor progress towards achieving the 2030 Agenda, said FAO Director-General during his opening address today at the 7th International Conference on Agricultural Statistics.

26 October 2016, Rome - Countries and international organizations need to make "tremendous" efforts and increase their investments to improve national statistical capacities to monitor progress towards achieving the 2030 Agenda.

This was the key message delivered by FAO Director-General José Graziano da Silva today at the start of the 7th International Conference on Agricultural Statistics, organized by the Italian National Institute of Statistics in collaboration with FAO and taking place in Rome (26-28 October).

The FAO Director-General underlined that the adoption by the UN Statistical Commission of 230 different indicators earlier this year to monitor the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and 169 targets of the 2030 Agenda represents "a turning point for the global statistical system".

"The SDG data requirements far exceed the current capacities of most national statistical systems," he said, noting that to rise to the challenge, the world needs to both strengthen tried-and-tested statistics gathering systems as well as adopt innovative approaches and cost effective methodologies, such as the use of mobile technology or remote sensing imagery.

"The challenge facing us now is to move from identifying our objectives to achieving them," said Italian Vice Minister for Agriculture Andrea Olivero, in remarks made at the start of the conference. "Statistics represent a critical tool in this effort, since the effectiveness of public policies will depend on the best possible information".

"For this reason, we need experts capable of identifying the appropriate tools in this the new reality. Our task now is to take advantage of the new information era to ensure global food security and agricultural sustainability," the deputy minister added.

Strengthening national capacities

To help countries achieve the 2030 agenda - including the Zero Hunger Target - FAO is putting in place a series of initiatives to strengthen countries' capacity and has developed innovative survey tools, such as the Food Insecurity Experience Scale to monitor food insecurity worldwide, and AGRIS (Agriculture Integrated Survey) to monitor economic, social and environmental aspects of farming activities, Graziano da Silva said.

The agency is also working on gathering and harmonizing the information provided by countries to produce global and regional aggregates, all of which are available online through FAOSTAT, its statistical database on food, agriculture, fisheries, forestry, natural resources management and nutrition. The world's largest and most comprehensive data resource of its kind, FAOSTAT provides free, open and easy access to over 3 million time-series and cross-sectional data of 245 countries and territories.

The suite of tools being used and developed by FAO will help establish a baseline against which countries can measure progress towards the SDGs, design the most effective policies and monitor their impact.

About the conference

The International Conference on Agricultural Statistics (ICAS VII) takes place every three years and convenes senior agricultural statisticians representing national statistical offices and ministries of agriculture from around the globe. The Conference is open to all producers and users of agricultural statistics, from government entities, academia, development partners and international organizations. The seventh edition of the Conference is organised by the Italian National Institute of Statistics (Istat), in collaboration with FAO, under the auspices of the International Statistical Institute.

This year the event focuses on research studies and best practices for monitoring the agriculture-related targets of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, and in doing so aims to address the changing needs and opportunities for agricultural statistics, under the overarching theme of "Modernization of Agricultural Statistics in support of the Sustainable Development Agenda".

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FAO-Newsroom@fao.org (FAO-Newsroom)http://www.fao.org/news/story/en/item/449271/icode/http://www.fao.org/news/story/en/item/449271/icode/Tue, 25 Oct 2016 22:00:00 GMTFood security of 800,000 Haitians seriously threatened after passage of Hurricane Matthew Some 1,4 million Haitians require food assistance in the wake of Hurricane Matthew, which wrought widespread devastation on supplies and crops across large swaths of the island nation. More than half – 800,000 people – are in dire need of immediate food aid, according to an emergency field assessment.

Joint CNSA/WFP/FAO news release

24 October 2016, Port-au-Prince/Rome - Some 1,4 million Haitians require food assistance in the wake of Hurricane Matthew, which wrought widespread devastation on supplies and crops across large swaths of the island nation. More than half, 800,000 people, are in dire need of immediate food aid, according to an emergency field assessment.

Conducted by the Government of Haiti, the National Coordination for Food Security (CNSA), the World Food Programme (WFP) and the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) the week after the hurricane, the assessment confirms the pressing need to provide immediate food assistance and help people to start rebuilding their livelihoods.

In the Department of Grande-Anse, agriculture has been virtually wiped out, warehouses have suffered serious damage, and the availability of local produce is now reduced to fruit fallen from trees. Around 50 percent of livestock were lost in some areas of the department.

On Haiti's southern coast, fishing activities are paralyzed due to nets, traps, boats and engines being washed away by flooding. As a result, income that families might use to buy food is nearly nonexistent. Meanwhile, losses of subsistence crops in the Department of Sud have been near total. Almost 90 percent of the department's forest and fruit trees were severely damaged; the remaining 10 percent are not likely to be productive this season.

"Local products on the markets will soon be depleted and we need more funding in order to continue food distributions to help 800,000 people in need of food aid which is more than urgent," said Miguel Barreto, WFP's Regional Director in Latin America and the Caribbean.

"The winter season crop is fast approaching. Agricultural producers have lost everything. If we don't act now to provide them with seed, fertilizer and other materials they need, they will not be able to plant and will be faced with persisting food insecurity," saidNathanaël Hishamunda, FAO's Representative in Haiti. He stressed the Organization's commitment to working together with the Ministry of Agriculture to implement its emergency response plan, focused on helping people resume agricultural activities and improving food security in rural areas.

Widespread impacts

Grande-Anse and Sud were not the only departments where food supplies and agriculture took a hit, the emergency evaluation shows.

In the Department of Nippes, the communities of Petit-Trou-de-Nippes, Baradères, Grand-Boucan, Plaisance-du-Sud, Asile, Petite-Rivière-de-Nippes have been severely affected, with almost 80 percent of their crops destroyed.

In the Department of Artibonite, the worst-hit town was Anse-Rouge but the four municipalities making up the District of Saint-Nicolas Mole (Bay of Henne, Bombardopolis, Jean Rabel, Mole Saint-Nicolas) were also affected. The hurricane destroyed from 60 to 90 percent of crops in this area, and livestock, a common activity in northwest Haiti, also registered substantial losses, with 60 to 80 percent of livestock wiped out.

Impacts to agriculture across the Department of Sud-Est were also widespread. Some 25 percent of maize crops are estimated to have been lost; between 60 and 90 percent of other crops have been damaged. Nearly 60 percent of fishing equipment was damaged or lost with trade-related losses estimated at around 40 percent.

The CNSA is calling for effective coordination of responses through strong institutional mechanisms, good monitoring and evaluation systems, and consultation in order to ensure consistency, transparency and efficiency.

The humanitarian community in Haiti urgently needs $56 million to meet the food assistance needs of people affected by Hurricane Matthew over the next three months.

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AboutCNSA

CNSA is a state entity established in 1996 to guide public policies to sustainably improve the food security of the Haitian people. Specifically, CNSA undertakes the following tasks: defines, directs and harmonizes interventions by actors in the food security sector in Haiti; monitors and evaluates the national food security situation and the results of field programs and projects; disseminates information on the evolution of food security and forms opinions on the subject; translates policies and strategies into operational plans for food and nutrition security.

About WFP

WFP is the world's largest humanitarian agency fighting hunger worldwide, delivering food assistance in emergencies and working with communities to improve nutrition and build resilience. Each year, WFP assists some 80 million people in around 80 countries.

About FAO

FAO leads international efforts to defeat hunger. It helps countries modernize and improve agriculture, forestry and fisheries practices and ensure good nutrition for all. FAO focuses special attention on developing rural areas, home to 70 percent of the world's poor and hungry people. Present in Haiti since 1978, FAO supports the government through technical cooperation and agricultural development activities aimed at improving food security and the resilience of households.

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FAO-Newsroom@fao.org (FAO-Newsroom)http://www.fao.org/news/story/en/item/448035/icode/http://www.fao.org/news/story/en/item/448035/icode/Sun, 23 Oct 2016 22:00:00 GMTNew Urban Agenda links urban and rural areas, acknowledges the centrality of food security and nutrition "The New Urban Agenda places food security and nutrition at the center of urban sustainable development," said FAO's Regional Representative for Latin America and the Caribbean, Raúl Benítez, in a statement made during Habitat III.

24 October 2016, Rome - FAO has welcomed the New Urban Agenda, agreed upon by countries at the recent Habitat III conference in Quito, Ecuador, and that recognizes progress in addressing the diverse challenges posed by urbanization will be key in achieving sustainable development and eradicating hunger.

"The New Urban Agenda places food security and nutrition at the center of urban sustainable development," said FAO's Regional Representative for Latin America and the Caribbean, Raúl Benítez, in a statement made during Habitat III.

Benítez highlighted that the agreement represents a fundamental step towards linking urban and rural communities in the planning and development of food systems grounded in a territorial approach that provides food security and improved nutrition for all.

Joan Clos, Executive Director of UN Habitat described the New Urban Agenda as "a vision for a better and greener urban future, where everyone has access to the benefits of urbanization".

Achieving sustainable urban development will require the implementation of sustainable food systems. For this reason, FAO, together with other partners, made substantive efforts in the negotiation process of the Agenda to ensure that a clear reference to food security and nutrition was incorporated in the outcome declaration of the Habitat conference, an event which usually only takes place every 20 years.

Linking rural and urban food security

Urbanization represents one of the most rapid and profound shifts in human history. By 2050, most of the world's population - two thirds - will live in towns or cities, but these urban centres will still depend strongly on rural communities for the provision of food. As such, food security strategies need to foster new synergies, which incorporate the necessary links between urban, peri-urban and rural areas, Benítez stressed.

Sustainable and inclusive urban economies must better engage and interact with rural economies, especially since small-scale farmers produce most of the food consumed in developing countries, including in their cities.

"It is necessary to go beyond the traditional dichotomy between urban and rural areas. City dwellers cannot be considered as mere consumers and rural communities must not be seen exclusively as producers," Benítez said.

Urban and rural planning must be integrated in ways that foster sustainable food production including a reduction of food waste in cities - currently one third of food produced globally is lost or wasted.

Habitat III has reaffirmed the increasing political momentum that recognizes the interlinkages between food security and nutrition and urban agendas. This was also underscored during the Second Mayors' Summit on the Milan Urban Food Policy Pact held in Rome on 14October 2016, and in which concrete commitments were announced by the leaders of several cities.

This is also in line with recent development in which many cities across the globe are engaged in food-related initiatives, developing food planning strategies such as food charters, food policies, projects on school catering, urban gardening, food waste management, strengthening urban-rural linkages, as well as developing urban and peri-urban agriculture and forestry and green infrastructure.

Eradicating hunger and all forms of malnutrition

The New Urban Agenda recognizes that the eradication of hunger and poverty is a global challenge and is an indispensable requirement for sustainable development.

According to FAO, the Agenda will help countries eradicate hunger - which still affects nearly 800 million people worldwide - and malnutrition through an integrated and multisectoral approach targeting both urban and rural areas.

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FAO-Newsroom@fao.org (FAO-Newsroom)http://www.fao.org/news/story/en/item/448875/icode/http://www.fao.org/news/story/en/item/448875/icode/Sun, 23 Oct 2016 22:00:00 GMTBurkina Faso to host ceremony marking end of the International Year of Pulses 2016 Burkina Faso’s capital city Ouagadougou will host the closing ceremony of the International Year of Pulses, which over the course of 2016 highlighted the exceptional nutritional benefits pulses offer to human diets via a wide range of events, publications, and other activities.

21 October 2016, Rome – Burkina Faso’s capital city Ouagadougou will host the closing ceremony of the International Year of Pulses, which over the course of 2016 highlighted the exceptional nutritional benefits pulses offer to human diets via a wide range of events, publications, and other activities.

The announcement was made here today by Director-General José Graziano da Silva during a meeting with Burkina Faso’s President Roch Marc Christian Kaboré.

Pulses are a cheap, delicious and highly nutritious source of protein and vital micronutrients that can greatly benefit people’s health and livelihoods, particularly in developing countries

They are important food crops for the food security of large numbers of people, particularly in Latin America, Africa and Asia, where pulses are widely cultivated and have longed been an integral element of traditional diets. Such is the case in Burkina Faso, where pulses are generally grown by rural women, and FAO is currently supporting these groups enhance productivity and market access.

The closure of the International Year of Pulses, to be held in Burkina Faso early 2017, will be an opportunity to showcase and share success stories from around the world, FAO’s Director-General said.

Running under the slogan “nutritious seeds for a sustainable future”, the UN General Assembly declared 2016 the International Year of Pulses to raise awareness of the many benefits of pulses, boost their production and trade, and encourage new and smarter uses throughout the food chain.

Agriculture and livestock, central to the country’s development programme

During today’s talks, FAO’s Director-General commended Burkina Faso for having consolidated its democracy and for its efforts to promote peace in the Sahel region, which he described as an essential requisite for food security.

Both leaders also discussed the country’s efforts to develop agriculture within the framework of its National Economic and Social Development programme.

“Agriculture and livestock play a key role and are a sector in which youth can make a very significant contribution,” President Kaboré said. Burkina Faso is committed not only to increasing just agricultural production, but also increase post-harvest processing, to add value to its produce both on locally and in international export markets he added, noting FAO’s guidance and technical assistance in this process.

FAO is also supporting Burkina Faso as it prepares to conduct its 2016 agricultural census. The new general census will facilitate better policy decision making, as well as monitoring and reporting on progress made towards the Sustainable Developments Goals.

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FAO-Newsroom@fao.org (FAO-Newsroom)http://www.fao.org/news/story/en/item/448828/icode/http://www.fao.org/news/story/en/item/448828/icode/Thu, 20 Oct 2016 22:00:00 GMTFAO and NEPAD team up to boost rural youth employment in Benin, Cameroon, Malawi and Niger The agreement signed today by FAO and the NEPAD Planning and Coordination Agency (NPCA) will help the four countries involved draw up and implement policies that seek to boost the development of enterprises in rural areas, including through the transfer of knowledge and skills.

The agreement signed today by FAO Director-General José Graziano da Silva and NEPAD Planning and Coordination Agency (NPCA) Chief Executive Officer, Ibrahim Assane Mayaki, will help the four countries involved draw up and implement policies that seek to boost the development of enterprises in rural areas, including through the transfer of knowledge and skills.

"This joint effort seeks to promote decent rural youth employment and entrepreneurship in agriculture and agribusiness, and it represents another important example of an Africa-led cooperation initiative that seeks to safeguard food security and livelihoods in the continent," Graziano da Silva said.

"Attaining Africa's Agenda 2063 aspirations to a large extent depends on the transformation of rural areas supported by capacitated young entrepreneurs along the food chain," Mayaki said.

Project funds will be used over a three year period, and will serve to ensure that young people, in particular women, gain greater access to the rural economy. This includes the creation of decent jobs, both in the farming and non-farming sectors through public-private investments.

The project objectives are in line with the 2014 Malabo Declaration through which African Union leaders pledged to achieve a set of goals in the agriculture sector by 2025. One of these is to increase youth employment in Africa's rural areas by 30 percent, especially through the strengthening of agriculture value chains, while another was to prioritize and support livelihood and income generating opportunities for women and the rural youth.

Concrete outcomes

The project will ensure that Benin, Cameroon, Malawi and Niger have in place national action plans on youth employment and skills development in rural economic value chains. In addition each country will pilot a set of Youth Capacity Development Projects.

Another wider objective is to improve policy dialogue among countries, regional organizations, development and resource partners to forge a coordinated approach to decent youth employment and entrepreneurship in Africa.

Africans for Africans

The Africa Solidarity Trust Fund was launched in 2013 as a unique Africa-led initiative to improve agriculture and food security across the continent. It includes contributions from Equatorial Guinea ($30 million), Angola ($10 million) and a symbolic contribution by civil society organizations in the Republic of the Congo.

Since its inception, the Fund has already provided financing for 16 projects in 38 countries including building resilience for conflict affected rural communities, reducing rural poverty through youth employment opportunities and building best practices to increase crop and livestock production.]]>

FAO-Newsroom@fao.org (FAO-Newsroom)http://www.fao.org/news/story/en/item/447949/icode/http://www.fao.org/news/story/en/item/447949/icode/Tue, 18 Oct 2016 22:00:00 GMTAgriculture has big role to play in curbing greenhouse gas emissions Agriculture generates around a fifth of the world’s greenhouse gas emissions. The sector must both contribute more to combating climate change while bracing to overcome its impacts, according to The State of Food and Agriculture 2016.

17 October 2016, Rome - The pledge to eradicate hunger and poverty must go hand in hand with rapid transformations of farming and food systems to cope with a warmer world, FAO said today in a new report.

Agriculture, including forestry, fisheries and livestock production, generate around a fifth of the world's greenhouse gas emissions. Agriculture must both contribute more to combating climate change while bracing to overcome its impacts, according to The State of Food and Agriculture 2016.

"There is no doubt climate change affects food security," FAO Director-General José Graziano da Silva said while presenting the report. "What climate change does is to bring back uncertainties from the time we were all hunter gatherers. We cannot assure any more that we will have the harvest we have planted."

That uncertainty also translates into volatile food prices, he noted. "Everybody is paying for that, not only those suffering from droughts," Graziano da Silva said.

FAO warns that a "business as usual" approach could put millions more people at risk of hunger compared to a future without climate change. Most affected would be populations in poor areas in sub-Saharan Africa and South and Southeast Asia, especially those who rely on agriculture for their livelihoods. Future food security in many countries will worsen if no action is taken today.

Overhauling farming and food systems will be complex due to the vast number of stakeholders involved, the multiplicity of farming and food processing systems, and differences in ecosystems. Yet, efforts must begin in earnest now as the adverse impacts of climate change will only worsen with time, the report emphasizes.

"The benefits of adaptation outweigh the costs of inaction by very wide margins," emphasized Graziano da Silva. Time for commitments to be put into action

The FAO report underscores that success in transforming food and agriculture systems will largely depend on urgently supporting smallholders in adapting to climate change.

Developing countries are home to around half a billion smallholder farm families who produce food and other agricultural products in greatly varying agro-ecological and socio-economic conditions. Solutions have to be tailored to those conditions; there is no one-size-fits-all fix.

The FAO report describes alternative, economically viable ways of helping smallholders to adapt and making the livelihoods of rural populations — often the most exposed to the downside risks of climate change - more resilient.

The report provides evidence that adoption of ‘climate-smart' practices, such as the use of nitrogen-efficient and heat-tolerant crop varieties, zero-tillage and integrated soil fertility management would boost productivity and farmers' incomes. Widespread adoption of nitrogen-efficient practices alone would reduce the number of people at risk of undernourishment by more than 100 million, the report estimates.

It also identifies avenues to lower emission intensity from agriculture. Water-conserving alternatives to the flooding of rice paddies for example, can slash methane emissions by 45 percent, while emissions from the livestock sector can be reduced by up to 41 percent through the adoption of more efficient practices.

FAO's road map also identifies policies and financing opportunities for the sustainable intensification of agriculture.

The way forward

Negative global effects of climate change are already being felt in some cereal crop yields,. Climate change will likely lead to a loss of nutritional content of some foods, such as declining zinc, iron and protein counts in staple cereals, and trigger new health issues — including diarrhoea for humans and an array of transboundary animal diseases.

Beyond 2030, according to scientific evidence, negative pressures on food production will be increasingly felt everywhere. Until then, adverse impacts of higher temperatures are sharply skewed towards developing countries, pointing to dimmer prospects for their food self-sufficiency.

Helping smallholders adapt to climate change risks is critical for global poverty reduction and food security. Close attention should be paid to removing obstacles they may face and fostering an enabling environment for individual, joint and collective action, according to the report.

FAO urges policy makers to identify and remove such barriers. These obstacles can include input subsidies that promote unsustainable farming practices, poorly aligned incentives and inadequate access to markets, credit, extension services and social protection programmes, and often disadvantage women, who make up to 43 percent of the agricultural labour force.

The report stresses that more climate finance is needed to fund developing countries' actions on climate change. International public finance for climate change adaptation and mitigation is growing and, while still relatively small, can act as a catalyst to leverage larger flows of public and private investments. More climate finance needs to flow to sustainable agriculture, fisheries and forestry to fund the large-scale transformation and the development of climate-smart food production systems. Adaptation and mitigation of climate change must occur in tandem.

Without action, agriculture will continue to be a major contributor to global greenhouse gas emissions. But by adopting climate-smart practices and increasing the capacity of soils and forests to sequester carbon, emissions can be reduced while stepping up food production to feed the world's growing population, the report said. Food systems can further contribute by minimizing food losses and waste, as well as by promoting healthier diets that also leave a lighter environmental footprint.

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FAO-Newsroom@fao.org (FAO-Newsroom)http://www.fao.org/news/story/en/item/446335/icode/http://www.fao.org/news/story/en/item/446335/icode/Mon, 17 Oct 2016 10:00:00 GMTRome-based UN agencies urge transformation of food systems for better nutrition The Committee on World Food Security (CFS) opened its plenary today, poised in the wake of international agreements on new global Sustainable Development Goals and the Paris Agreement on Climate Change to forge ahead with coordinated action to transform the world’s food systems and nutrition.

17 October 2016, Rome-The Committee on World Food Security (CFS) opened its plenary today, poised in the wake of international agreements on new global Sustainable Development Goals and the Paris Agreement on Climate Change to forge ahead with coordinated action to transform the world's food systems and nutrition.

"More than half of the world population suffer from one or more forms of malnutrition," including hunger, micronutrient deficiency and obesity, FAO Director-General José Graziano da Silva told delegates attending the annual meeting of the leading forum for global policymaking on food security and nutrition . "there is a clear failure of food systems to deliver healthy diets to people. And if food systems are the problem, CFS is where we should look for solutions," he said.

The key goals of eradicating extreme poverty, hunger and all forms of malnutrition by 2030 must be achieved in "an increasingly adverse context where population growth, a shrinking resource base, climate change and urbanization will challenge our ability to find new ways of working and interacting," he said. The effort will require "extended partnerships," Graziano da Silva said.

"We need to do more, do it better, faster and together... to transform rural areas into places where people can live fulfilling lives, and plan for a bright future. Where every one of the world's 3 billion rural people is able to adapt to climate change. Where each day starts and ends with access to food that is nutritious and plentiful," said Kanayo F. Nwanze, President of the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD).

"We must renew our efforts to build more sustainable food systems, which are better able to withstand changing weather patterns and extreme events and respond to nutritional needs -- building resilience into our food systems, mitigating the risks, and ensuring we are more prepared for climate shocks in the future," said Elisabeth Rasmusson, Assistant Executive Director of the UN's World Food Program (WFP), noting the effort would require action from diverse stakeholders.

In her opening remarks, CFS Chair Amira Gornass of Sudan emphasized that "building sustainable food systems is in essence working to achieve the food security and nutrition-related targets of the 2030 Agenda."

A global conversation

In addition to acting as the UN system's guiding body for food security and nutrition debates, CFS is structured to allow participants from civil society, the private sector, other UN agencies and international financial institutions, research bodies and other non-state actors a voice in policy decisions. This plenary, the 43rd, has set a record with more than 1,400 registered participants.

Its week-long deliberations will include a host of side events, a forum on urbanization - an increasingly important theme for food security and nutrition.

Delegates will also endorse two sets of policy recommendations, one regarding the role of livestock in sustainable agricultural development and another regarding the importance of connecting smallholders to markets.

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FAO-Newsroom@fao.org (FAO-Newsroom)http://www.fao.org/news/story/en/item/447317/icode/http://www.fao.org/news/story/en/item/447317/icode/Mon, 17 Oct 2016 02:00:00 GMTWorld Food Day highlights that climate is changing and that food and agriculture must too The World Food Day 2016 slogan: Climate is changing. Food and agriculture must too underscores the fact that to feed a global population expected to reach more than 9 billion by 2050, humanity needs to produce more food, but in ways that use up less natural resources and that drastically reduce loss and waste.

14 October 2016, Rome - The resounding message from this year's World Food Day celebrations in Rome and in many countries is that climate change, hunger and poverty must be addressed together in order to achieve the sustainable development goals set by the international community.

"Higher temperatures and erratic weather patterns are already undermining the health of soils, forests and oceans on which agricultural sectors and food security depend," FAO Director-General José Graziano said at the global World Food Day ceremony here today.

Droughts and floods are more frequent and intense as are climate-related outbreaks of diseases and pests, he added, citing the terrible impact of El Nino in parts of Africa, Asia and Central American and more recently, Hurricane Matthew in Haiti.

"As usual the poorest and the hungry suffer the most and the vast majority of them are small family farmers that live in rural areas of developing countries," the FAO Director-General said, noting how adaptation and mitigation to climate change is fundamental, and that this requires "much better access to appropriate technologies, knowledge, markets, information and investments."

The World Food Day 2016 slogan: Climate is changing. Food and agriculture must too underscores the fact that to feed a global population expected to reach more than 9 billion by 2050, humanity needs to produce more food, but in ways that use up less natural resources and that drastically reduce loss and waste.

Political will

In his address, Italian Prime Minister Matteo Renzi stressed that the fight against hunger is essentially a political issue. "Italy maintains that the fight for food security is, at this point in history, a question of politics with a capital ‘P'," he added.

Prime Minister Renzi said that the international community needs to urgently address the problems of inequality and injustice. Italy would strive to ensure that these themes are at the top of the international agenda, including at two important events in March next year: the G7 summit, which Italy will host and preside and a meeting of European Union leaders.

Renzi noted that Europe should reject a "culture of waste". Italy recently passed a new law aimed at curbing food waste, one that was based, "more on collaboration and less on punishment".

Another keynote speaker at today's ceremony, Princess Lalla Hasnaa of Morocco, whosecountry is hosting next month's COP22 climate talks, said these would be "action-oriented" and geared towards implementing the Paris Agreement.

"The Moroccan Presidency will seek to nurture and promote the spirit of mobilization which prevailed in Paris in terms of increasing climate funding, developing expertise and ensuring the transfer of technology. It will lay special emphasis on adaptation, primarily for the countries of the South and for Small Island States." Princess Hasnaa said.

Pope urges solidarity with "climate refugees"

In a special message read out at the ceremony, Pope Francis linked the impact of climate change on the planet's fields, fisheries and forests to migration of people from rural areas of developing countries. "The most recent data tell us that the numbers of ‘climate refugees' are growing, swelling the ranks of the excluded and forgotten, who are being marginalized from the great human family," the pontiff said.

"From the wisdom of rural communities we can learn a style of life that can help defend us from the logic of consumerism and production at any cost, a logic that, cloaked in good justification, such as increasing population, is in reality aimed solely at the increase in profit," he said.

Pope Francis expressed concern that a growing number of actors in agriculture "believe they are omnipotent, or are able to ignore the cycles of the seasons and to improperly modify the various animal and plant species, leading to the loss of variety that, if it exists in nature, has and must have its role".

What may "give excellent results in the laboratory may be advantageous to some, but it can have ruinous effects for others." He stressed that in dealing with such issues, the world should rely more on the wisdom that farmers, fishers and pastoralists "conserve in memory handed down through generations".

UN Special Envoy on El Niño and Climate, Macharia Kamau, for his part urged for the need "to build stronger solidarity, stronger actions, better partnerships and innovation, including insurance schemes that protect families and take risk out of humanitarian response" programmes.

"The 2030 agenda, at its core, is an agenda for fighting poverty, making sure there is no hunger, and food is there for everybody. And nothing threatens that more than climate change," he said.

"We must change the way we approach food and agriculture. Part of that change is ensuring rural smallholder producers are more resilient than ever before to the impacts of a changing climate," said Kanayo F. Nwanze, President of the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD). "If we are ever to break the cycle of poverty and hunger, our attention must be focused on these smallholder producers who are the source of food for their families and communities, but are vulnerable to the effects of climate change."

Ertharin Cousin, Executive Director, World Food Programme (WFP) for her part said: Climate change is already stretching the international humanitarian system financially and operationally, so moving beyond disaster relief to managing risk is an urgent task for all of us. More than 80 percent of world's hungry live in areas prone to natural disasters and environmental degradation. Climate change is not waiting, neither can we."

Mayors Summit

On World Food Day, FAO is also hosting the second Mayors' Annual Summit where mayors and senior officials from more than 45 cities will discuss progress made in meeting the goals of the Milan Urban Food Policy Pact. The pact calls on cities to develop more sustainable and equitable food systems, end urban hunger, promote healthy diets, reduce waste and conserve biodiversity while adapting to climate change and mitigating its effects.

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FAO-Newsroom@fao.org (FAO-Newsroom)http://www.fao.org/news/story/en/item/446764/icode/http://www.fao.org/news/story/en/item/446764/icode/Fri, 14 Oct 2016 14:00:00 GMTFeeding the cities of the future All cities, big and small, can and must help build the sustainable, resilient food systems of the future, FAO Director-General José Graziano da Silva stressed during the second meeting of the Milan Urban Food Policy Pact, a collaboration between mayors of 130 cities from around the world.

14 October 2016, Rome - All cities, big and small, can and must help build the sustainable, resilient food systems of the future, FAO Director-General José Graziano da Silva stressed during the second meeting of the Milan Urban Food Policy Pact, a collaboration between mayors of 130 cities from around the world.

Signed at the world Expo in Milan last year, the pact unites mayors from Banjul to Barcelona and from Kyoto to Quito in the search for local solutions to end extreme poverty and malnutrition, reduce waste and adapt to a changing climate.

Cities occupy just 3 percent of the world's land area, but are home to some 3.5 billion people, Graziano da Silva pointed out -- more than half of humanity. And these numbers are rising.

Rapid urbanization puts pressure on food systems and natural resources, calling for solutions that make cities more inclusive, safe and resilient, according to FAO's Director-General.

"Local authorities have an important role to play in our global quest for sustainable development," Graziano da Silva said that the Mayors' Summit held in Rome on the occasion of World Food Day (WFD), adding that "It is at the local level where people live, where people eat, use water and take out their garbage."

But for too long "food security and nutrition have been overlooked in urban planning and development," he said.

Referencing this year's WFD theme, he also underlined the direct impacts of climate change on food security and its role as driver of migration from rural to urban areas.

Rising to the challenge

Already, many cities are responding to the challenges of climate change and rapid urbanization. From initiatives to reduce food waste to projects that transform urban food deserts into hubs for fresh local produce, cities have emerged as laboratories of innovation for solving today's food challenges.

And more and more, urban centres are becoming food producers, Graziano da Silva noted, increasing availability of healthy, affordable food while cutting down on transportation. This can make an important contribution to household food security, he stressed, especially in times of crisis or food shortages.

Cities are also finding creative ways to cut food losses and fight hunger at the same time, transforming left over and unwanted produce into nutritious meals for struggling citizens.

"Cities can and must turn policies often decided on a national and international level into practical applications," said the mayor of Milan, Giuseppe Sala.

Milan is eager to maintain and reinforce its guiding role on food policy, he said, noting that his city has launched multiple projects, including one aimed at linking local rice and cheese producers to a school meals program and another that encourages students to bring home uneaten food from school cafeterias.

FAO is supporting the Milan Urban Food Policy Pact by helping cities set indicators and targets for progress and helping monitor results. It's also active in expanding the network and creating opportunities for cities to exchange experiences.

Looking ahead at the upcoming UN climate conference in Morocco, Graziano da Silva stressed that the time has come to transform international commitments into concrete actions. "Cities must be involved in this effort," he said, adding that "All cities big and small have the potential to make a difference."

The next Summit of the Milan Pact will take place in 2017 in Valencia, Spain.

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FAO-Newsroom@fao.org (FAO-Newsroom)http://www.fao.org/news/story/en/item/446763/icode/http://www.fao.org/news/story/en/item/446763/icode/Fri, 14 Oct 2016 12:00:00 GMTItaly and FAO team up to promote agricultural heritage systems in Italy and other European areas The Italian Ministry for Agricultural Food and Forestry Policies and FAO will work closely together to identify and increase the number of ecosystems that play an important role as repositories of agricultural biodiversity, traditional knowledge, cultural heritage and landscapes.

14 October 2016, Rome - The Italian Ministry for Agricultural Food and Forestry Policies and FAO will work closely together to identify and increase the number of ecosystems that play an important role as repositories of agricultural biodiversity, traditional knowledge, cultural heritage and landscapes.

In a new Memorandum of Understanding (MoU), was signed today, on the occasion of the World Food Day 2016 by FAO Director-General José Graziano da Silva and Minister of Agricultural Food and Forestry Policies Maurizio Martina.with the aim of developing joint strategies to incorporate such ecosystems in rural development policies. Within this framework FAO and Italy will also work to increase recognition and to promote better stewardship of such traditional agricultural systems across member countries.

GIHAS is an important system especially for smallholder farmers as it can contribute to boost livelihoods in rural areas and therefore food security.

Since 2005, sites known as Globally Important Agricultural Heritage Systems (GIAHS) have been formally recognised by FAO around the globe.

Such sites are different from conventional heritage sites or protected areas. They represent dynamic, human-managed agricultural ecosystems that reflect not only local ecological conditions but local traditions and culture (learn more).

The parties will also collaborate to develop research activities regarding the role of traditional landscapes and rural practices related to agriculture, forestry, fishery, pasture and rangelands as approaches to dealing with climate change. This five-year agreement also seeks to identify technological solutions aimed at supporting good practices in GIAHS.

Furthermore the parties envisage to organise a series of conferences, seminars and workshops at the national, regional or global level to foster policy and strategic dialogue and share experiences.

At present, there are 36 GIAHS sites in the world, located in 15 countries in Africa, Latin America, Near East and Asia.

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FAO-Newsroom@fao.org (FAO-Newsroom)http://www.fao.org/news/story/en/item/447206/icode/http://www.fao.org/news/story/en/item/447206/icode/Fri, 14 Oct 2016 08:00:00 GMTParliaments must work together in the final stretch against hunger Building strong alliances among legislators across the world is vital to making headway on hunger eradication, FAO Director-General Jose Graziano da Silva said on Monday, as he underscored the agency's continued support to fostering global exchanges between lawmakers.

10 October, 2016, Rome -- Building strong alliances among legislators across the world is vital to making headway on hunger eradication, FAO Director-General Jose Graziano da Silva said on Monday, as he underscored the agency's continued support to fostering global exchanges between lawmakers.

"Our objective is simple: to ensure that food and nutrition security is placed at the highest levels of the political and legislative agenda," Graziano da Silva said, speaking at a special event on the role of parliamentarians in the Zero Hunger Challenge held at FAO headquarters.

FAO has been intensifying its collaboration with parliamentarians, he said, because of the critical contributions legislators bring to the fight against malnutrition and the global efforts to implement the new 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.

"Food security and Nutrition should be considered a public issue -- a State responsibility," he stressed.

Experience shows that where public policies and programs are anchored in appropriate legislation, the indicators on malnutrition improve significantly, the FAO Director-General said.

Giving one example of such legislative initiatives, Graziano da Silva drew attention to food labeling, saying that people must be well-informed regarding the benefits and detriments of what they are eating and the quality of their food.

"People usually consume much more sugar and salt than the limits recommended. And most of the time, they do not even know what they are consuming, because the labels do not provide understandable information," he said.

Mitigating climate change and preserving valuable natural resources are other areas where legislation can drive progress towards more sustainable agriculture.

In her keynote address at today's event, Amal Abdulla Al Qubaisi, President and Speaker of the Federal National Council of the United Arab Emirates said: "As parliamentarians we shoulder a particular responsibility - a responsibility to join hands with governments and nations to preserve natural resources and assure food security." She underlined the importance of an engaged citizenry in this collective effort to preserve resources, which is of particular concern in the UAE, where water and arable land are scarce.

She called on parliamentarians to adopt legal provisions to enshrine the right to food in their constitutions and set aside special budgets for each of the Sustainable Development Goals, especially the fight against hunger. "There is no more worthy achievement we can strive for," she said.

Graziano da Silva underlined that political will remains the deciding factor for real progress on hunger and malnutrition. Using the unmatched success of Latin America and the Caribbean, the FAO Director-General reminded the audience that much of the progress made in the region is due to members of parliaments across the continent making hunger eradication a political priority.

Forums for exchange are vital for building that political will, according Graziano da Silva. He pointed to the Parliamentary Front against Hunger and Malnutrition for Latin America and the Caribbean, and the new European alliance Fight against Hunger as examples of collaborations designed to galvanize action against hunger. A Pan-African Parliamentary Alliance for Food and Nutrition Security, which FAO helped establish, will be launched on Thursday.

"We've come a long way in the fight against hunger - but the last mile will be crucial," said European Parliamentarian Paolo de Castro, who serves as Chairperson of the Fight against Hunger Alliance.

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FAO-Newsroom@fao.org (FAO-Newsroom)http://www.fao.org/news/story/en/item/446125/icode/http://www.fao.org/news/story/en/item/446125/icode/Sun, 09 Oct 2016 22:00:00 GMTPutting indigenous peoples’ rights at the center of development Indigenous Peoples’ right to give or withhold consent to development projects that affect their natural resources and ways of life has become stronger thanks to a new manual that guides development actors in designing and implementing such projects.

10 October 2016, Rome - Indigenous Peoples' right to give or withhold consent to development projects that affect their natural resources and ways of life has become stronger thanks to a new manual that guides development actors in designing and implementing such projects.

The Manual on Free, Prior and Informed Consent (FPIC) outlines essential ways to ensure Indigenous Peoples, can give or withold their consent to interventions proposed in their lands and territories and do so free of coercion, prior to any decisions being made, and with the necessary information presented to them in a culturally appropriate way.

Indigenous Peoples make up 75 percent of the world's cultural diversity and are custodians of no less than 80 percent of the world's biodiversity. This biodiversity holds valuable answers for current and future food challenges, including climate change.

But their territories have shrunk to only 20 percent of the world's land surface. Mounting pressures from some extractive industries are placing Indigenous Peoples at the verge of collapse in parts of the world. A constant variable in all the actions that lead to forced displacement and destruction of their natural resources is the lack of respect for their right to Free Prior and Informed Consent.

"Out of the several thousand complaints we receive from Indigenous Peoples across the world yearly, 99 percent of them relate to the lack of respect and application of FPIC. The results are catastrophic for our peoples," says Alvaro Pop, Chair of the UN Permanent Forum on Indigenous Peoples.

"It is shocking that in the 21st century we have the underlying understanding that there are different rights for different human beings. None of us would allow someone to come to our home and start any activity of any kind without our agreement. This is de facto marginalization by dividing rights for first and second class citizens," says Marcela Villarreal, Director of FAO's Office for Partnerships, Advocacy and Capacity Building.

Today, there are about 370 million indigenous individuals living in more than 90 countries and speaking 4,000 out of the 7,000 surviving languages. Over the past decades, they have been facing mounting challenges related to their livelihoods, respect for their rights and spiritual beliefs, and access to lands, natural resources and territories.

Allies in the fight against hunger

"Indigenous Peoples do not see themselves as dissociated from the environment and natural resources where they live, they feel part of the same system and this is why they protect the biodiversity where they live," according to Jeffrey Campbell, manager of the Forest and Farm Facility at FAO.

Preserving biodiversity is essential for food security. The genetic pool for plants and animal species is not found in agronomic research centres but rather in the "laboratories of life" — forests, rivers and lakes, and pastures — he adds.

Indigenous Peoples's food systems can help the rest of humanity expand its narrow food base, currently reliant on only a small set of staple crops. Additionally, by protecting forest resources, many indigenous communities help mitigate the negative impacts of climate change. This is why Indigenous Peoples are key allies in the fight against hunger and malnutrition.

"While we are the ones who contributed the least to climate change, we are those suffering the most. In the Arctic we have started to talk about the "right to be cold" as the melting displaces more and more communities from our ancestral homes," said Carol Kalafatic, one of the authors of the FPIC manual.

Free, prior and informed consent

The manual — which builds on a year of consultation with various Indigenous Peoples — underlines Indigenous Peoples' intrinsic right to self-determination as enshrined in the UN Declaration of the Rights of Indigenous Peoples and international law.

Key to this is the ability to give or withhold consent for a proposed development project. Examples of such projects can range from an NGO designing emergency interventions following a natural disaster to a government wanting to grant a mining concession in indigenous territories.

This new manual — launched byFAO Deputy Director-General Daniel Gustafson and Alvaro Pop, Chair of the UN Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues — is the result of one year of collaboration between FAO and partner organizations including Action Aid, Action Against Hunger, Agencia Española de Cooperación International para el Desarrollo (AECID), Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GiZ), the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) and World Vision.

The manual outlines essential steps to follow along the lifecycle of a development project, from identifying which communities need to be consulted to sharing achievements after the project has been completed.

Along the way, the guidelines give special attention to include traditional leaders, women and youth in consultations and decisionmaking.

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FAO-Newsroom@fao.org (FAO-Newsroom)http://www.fao.org/news/story/en/item/445417/icode/http://www.fao.org/news/story/en/item/445417/icode/Sun, 09 Oct 2016 22:00:00 GMTTimely seed distributions in Ethiopia boost crop yields, strengthen communities’ resilience Ethiopia is about to complete one of the largest and most successful seed distribution campaigns in the country’s history, aimed at helping farmers to stay on their feet in the face of a blistering drought caused by El Niño, FAO said today.

7 October 2016, Rome - Ethiopia is about to complete one of the largest and most successful seed distribution campaigns in the country's history, aimed at helping farmers to stay on their feet in the face of a blistering drought caused by El Niño, FAO said today.

More than 32 000 tonnes of seed have been distributed to around 1.7 million food and nutrition insecure households across Ethiopia's six major regions by the Government, FAO, non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and other humanitarian agencies.

FAO has coordinated this massive campaign in close collaboration with the Government. These joint efforts have enhanced preparations for the critical summer meher planting season, from which an estimated 85 percent of Ethiopia's food supply is derived.

FAO's impact on household food consumption

To date, FAO has directly distributed close to 4 000 tonnes of seed to 168 000 households. An estimated 78 000 hectares of land have been cultivated and will likely yield close to 170 000 tonnes of crop production.

With an estimated average of one tonne of crops per household per annum, or about 0.2 tonnes per person, the beneficiary families may now be able to meet their minimum food requirements for at least eight to ten months.

The El Niño-induced drought resulted in two failed planting seasons in 2015 in heavily agriculture-dependent Ethiopia, decimating household seed supplies across the country and severely compromising national food security. The drought led to 10.2 million people requiring emergency food and livelihoods assistance at the start of 2016. It is now estimated that around 9.7 million Ethiopians still require assistance.

Making a difference in the livelihoods of Ethiopia's farmers

A recent FAO assessment concluded that the emergency seed distribution operation will have a significant positive impact on the 2016/17 harvest.

"Projections are that Ethiopia's 2016/17 harvest will be average to above average - a massive achievement coming on the heels of one of the worst droughts in recent memory," said Amadou Allahoury, FAO Representative in Ethiopia. "Both the Government and humanitarian agencies moved quickly to assist communities impacted by the drought crisis, an effort we are proud to support," he added.

FAO conducted the assessment in August and September 2016 in areas that were most impacted by the drought, with particular focus on the heavily crop-dependent regions of Amhara, Oromiya, Southern Nations, Nationalities and Peoples and Tigray. About half of the beneficiaries from randomly selected households surveyed after the distribution indicated that their livelihoods would have been in jeopardy had they not received emergency seed for the meher cropping season.

"I thought that I would not be able to plant any wheat this year. When the village committee notified me that I would receive seeds I was so relieved that I would be able to continue to work my land and feed my family," said Mitiku Tefera, a smallholder farmer in Werababo, South Wollo, located in the highlands of Amhara region.

Over 93 percent of beneficiaries reported that agricultural inputs had been distributed to them on time for the 2016 meher season and that they received their preferred type of seed. Critically, they overwhelmingly reported that the seed was of good quality.

"While input distributions were essential for the cropping season and enabled farmers to plant, it is now critical to continue building their resilience to withstand climate-related extreme events. These are becoming more and more frequent - a ‘new normal' in Ethiopia and more generally in eastern Africa" said Dominique Burgeon, Director of FAO's Emergency and Rehabilitation Division, following his visit to the worst drought affected areas.

"Pastoralists have also been badly hit, and efforts must be accelerated to protect their livestock, particularly core breeding stock, in order for families to rebuild their livelihoods," Burgeon added. FAO undertook a comprehensive livestock response, including providing emergency fodder seed, feed along the migratory routes, water point rehabilitation and animal treatments and vaccinations.

Future work and needs

It is estimated that Ethiopia needs an additional $45 million for the crop and livestock sectors to rehabilitate affected farmers and pastoralists, bringing the total requirement for the country's agriculture sector to $91.3 million since the beginning of 2016.

The bulk of this funding, about $36.2 million, aims to support animal health activities, such as vaccinations and treatments, with more than 2.4 million livestock-dependent households now requiring assistance until the end of the year.

As of October 2016, FAO mobilized about $14 million to respond to the crisis. The Organization is urgently requesting an additional $14 million to support livestock-dependent families in affected regions until the end of 2016.

In order to boost the resilience of crop and livestock-dependent communities, FAO is currently developing a resilience strategy for Ethiopia to support the Government and partners' efforts with technical expertise and capacities.

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FAO-Newsroom@fao.org (FAO-Newsroom)http://www.fao.org/news/story/en/item/445286/icode/http://www.fao.org/news/story/en/item/445286/icode/Fri, 07 Oct 2016 07:00:00 GMTGlobal wheat and rice harvests poised to set new record Global food markets will likely remain “generally well balanced” in the year ahead, as wheat and rice harvests are on course for record harvests, FAO said in its Food Outlook report.

6 October 2016, Rome-Global food markets will likely remain "generally well balanced" in the year ahead, as prices for most internationally-traded agricultural commodities are relatively low and stable, FAO said today.

The benign outlook, especially for staple grains, is poised to lower the world food import bill to a six-year low, according to the Food Outlook.

Record global production forecasts for this year's wheat and rice harvests, along with rebounding maize output, are helping keep inventories ample and prices low. Worldwide cereal production in 2016 should rise 2 569 million tonnes, up 1.5 percent from the previous year and enough to further boost existing inventories.

The value of total food imports is expected to fall 11 percent in U.S. dollar terms in 2016 to 1.168 trillion, as lower bills for livestock products and cereal-based foodstuffs more than offset higher bills for fish, fruit and vegetables, oils and particularly sugar. However, the decline is expected to be slower for economically more vulnerable nations, many of which have depreciating local currencies.

Bumper crops

FAO raised its forecast for global wheat production to 742.4 million tonnes, led by increases in India, the U.S. and the Russian Federation - which is poised to overtake the European Union as the grain's largest exporter. Total wheat utilization is projected to reach 730.5 million tonnes, including a big jump in use of lower-quality wheat for animal rations.

Global rice production is predicted to expand for the first time in three years, increasing 1.3 percent to an all-time high of 497.8 million tonnes, buoyed by abundant monsoon rains over Asia and sizable increases in Africa. Coarse grain output is seen rising 1.8 percent on the year, buoyed by record crops in the U.S., Argentina and India.

Cereal prices are drifting lower on the backs of the expected hefty supply. Wheat and maize futures on the Chicago Board of Trade have both dropped more than 16 percent since the start of the year, while quoted rice prices are at their lowest level since early 2008.

Production of cassava, a dietary mainstay in Africa where per capita consumption is above 100 kilograms annually, is also projected to grow 2.6% this year to 288 million tonnes. However, China's shift to drawing down its maize stockpile for domestic industry and feed has curbed international prices and trade flows for cassava.

Soybeans and other oilcrops could reach an all-time production high this year, thanks to record US yields, although demand is expected to grow even faster. In the livestock sector, dairy markets are also expected to return to general balance in 2016 after a long period of excess supply, but tightening milk availabilities in the EU triggered the largest monthly rise in dairy prices in many years.

Stagnant world meat output in 2016, twinned with rising international demand for pigmeat and poultry, especially from East Asian markets, continues to lend support to meat prices.

Global fish production, meanwhile, is forecast to expand by a below-trend 1.8 percent this year to 174 million tonnes, as aquaculture output is expected to expand by 5 percent and wild-caught fish output to decline by 0.9 percent, due in part to El Nino's impact on Pacific sardines, anchovetas and squid.

Food Price Index

The FAO Food Price Index, also released today, averaged 170.9 points in September, up 2.9 percent from August and 10 percent from a year earlier.

The increase was driven by a 13.8 percent monthly jump in the FAO Dairy Price Index, partly as a result of a sharp jump in butter prices benefiting exporters in the EU, where dairy output is declining.

The FAO Sugar Price Index rose 6.7 percent from August on the back of unfavorable weather in the Centre South main producing region in Brazil.

Palm oil prices also rose, helped by low stock levels in both exporting and importing countries, as did those of soy and rapeseed oil, lifting the FAO Vegetable Oil Price Index by 2.9 percent for the month.

The FAO Food Price Index is a trade-weighted index tracking international market prices for the five key commodity groups. Its current level is the highest since March 2015. The sub-index for cereals is now at its lowest in a decade in deflated terms.

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FAO-Newsroom@fao.org (FAO-Newsroom)http://www.fao.org/news/story/en/item/445300/icode/http://www.fao.org/news/story/en/item/445300/icode/Thu, 06 Oct 2016 08:00:00 GMTContributing to Sahel food security through sustainable water bird management FAO and the French Facility for Global Environment (FFEM) will work together in a new partnership to improve the state of natural resources in the wetlands of Africa’s Sahel region, in particular the sustainable management of migratory water birds.

6 October 2016, Rome - FAO and the French Facility for Global Environment (FFEM) will work together in a new partnership to improve the state of natural resources in the wetlands of Africa's Sahel region, in particular the sustainable management of migratory water birds which are crucial for food security for the local populations.

The agreement signed today between FAO and FFEM, which co-funds one third of the 5 million euros project, is specifically targeting the four main wetland areas in the Sahel region which are distributed between Chad, Egypt, Mali, Senegal and Sudan.

The "Strengthening expertise in Sub -Saharan Africa on birds and their rational use for communities and their environment" (RESSOURCE) project will focus on wetlands situated in the Senegal River Valley, Inner Niger Delta, Lake Chad and the lower and middle reaches of the Nile. These are ecosystem sites of critical importance where the food security and livelihoods of nearly a billion people depend on agriculture, livestock and natural resource use, including fishing and bird hunting.

Many water bird species, including Garganey and Ruff spend the winter in the Sahel wetlands before returning to breed in Europe. Since 1960, the number of water birds in the area has declined by about 40 percent - a dramatic fall that possibly relates to three main factors: the shrinking of flood plain size due to drainage, reduced rainfall and other climate change related events; changing plant biodiversity, including the introduction of invasive species; and, unsustainable hunting.

FAO, FFEM and the other project partners will promote sustainable management of migratory water birds through bird census and surveying and monitoring techniques, and capacity building activities. The results will support the creation or adaptation of a legal and regulatory framework, and foster policies aimed at sustainable hunting and enhanced bird conservation. These policies will be integrated with broader wetlands site management.

"This project is about improving management of wetlands, water birds and their habitats. It will eventually benefit local populations and for the first time we will work at the regional level mobilising multi-stakeholders partnerships" said Francois Xavier Duporge, General Secretary of FFEM.

Promoting food security and economic development

The work to improve water bird management including the protection of natural habitats, aims to benefit both the ecosystems and local communities that rely on them for food and other resources, including income.

In Chad and Senegal, for example local business people organise hunting on the wetlands sites - activities which, if managed sustainably, can continue to bring benefits to the local economy.

"Our goal is to adapt water bird hunting by promoting sustainable hunting management and bird conservation policies which will benefit those local communities who rely on birds for their livelihoods. In many Sahelian wetlands, hunting is crucial to local food security and the economy," said Eva Muller, Director of FAO's Forestry Policy and Resources Division.

FAO will be responsible for implementation and coordination of the project in close collaboration with all its technical partners as well as FFEM.

About FFEM

FFEM is a government initiative and works in promoting global environment protection in developing countries since 1994 by co-financing projects related to biodiversity, climate change, land degradation, desertification and persistent organic pollutants.

FFEM and FAO have partnered since 2011. Together, they will seek to further increase joint opportunities in various fields related to forestry, biodiversity and climate change including in the context of the COP 22 climate conference.

Globally, food prices are believed to be back to their long-term downward trend in real terms, as supply growth outpaces demand.

This follows the price surges experienced during the 2008-12 period and a prolonged period of volatility in food markets, Graziano da Silva told Agriculture and Trade Ministers and other government officials and experts, attending a high-level meeting on agricultural commodity prices at FAO's headquarters in Rome.

"As policy makers, you are confronted by the challenge of keeping nutritious food affordable for the poor, while ensuring good incentives for producers, including family farmers," he added.

"Low food prices reduce the incomes of farmers, especially poor family farmers who produce staple food in the developing countries. This cut in the flow of cash into rural communities also reduces the incentives for new investments in production, infrastructure and services," the FAO Director-General said.

In a video address to the meeting, World Trade Organization (WTO) Director-General Roberto Azevêdo said that "under the right circumstances" trade provides people with opportunities to join global markets and helps to create incentives for producers to invest and innovate.

The "historic decision" struck in Nairobi in December 2015 by WTO members to eliminate agricultural export subsidies, according to Azevêdo will "help level the playing field in agriculture markets, to the benefit of farmers and exporters in developing and least-developed countries."

For his part, Graziano da Silva pointed to the potential of trade in contributing to global food security and better nutrition, specifically underlining its potential role as an "adaptation tool" to climate change - countries that are projected to experience decreasing yields and production due to climate change, will have to resort to the global markets to feed their populations.

But the FAO Director-General also noted that increased openness to trade "can also bring risks". If not well managed, it "can undermine local production and consequently the livelihoods of the rural poor".

The elimination of agricultural export subsidies that affect prices in global markets could be one way to improve trade so that "it benefits small farmers in developing countries and creates prosperity in rural areas." Graziano da Silva said.

Social protection

With demand representing one of the most powerful drivers of food prices, an essential way to make these more remunerative for producers, yet affordable for consumers, is to promote and strengthen targeted social protection programmes and other schemes such as food vouchers, the FAO Director-General said.

"The aim of these poilices is to build a virtuous cycle of local production and local consumption," he added